KonoSuba: A Tale of this Beautiful World
by Dknightodin
Summary: Takes place after the events of vol.15 with one exception, Aqua never leaves. What events would transpire if this were the case and where would it lead? I've tried to keep interactions between characters as natural as possible, however, be aware that there IS an intentional attempt to further the Kazumin relationship. Hope you guys enjoy. :)
1. Prologue

**_SPOILER WARNING _**_FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T READ THE LN TILL VOL.15 EPILOGUE. THIS BASICALLY FOLLOWS THE MAINLINE STORY AND DEVIATES PAST THIS POINT. THERE CAN AND WILL BE REFERENCES TO THE ENTIRETY OF THE LN UP TO VOL.15.** YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**_

**Konosuba: A Tale of this Beautiful World**

**~Volume One~**

**Prologue**

_My name is Satou Kazuma; I'm from Japan. I died and was revived in another world. My companions, three girls, are, a useless goddess, an explosion-crazy archmage, and a perverted crusader. I was sent to this world in order to defeat the Demon King, but all I've wanted was trouble-free life; it's been anything but._

I awoke to Aqua once again pestering me about taking on the Demon King. This has been an almost daily ritual for this annoying goddess and no matter how many times I flatly reject her nagging, she continues to bring it up as often as possible.

"UWAAAA, Kashuma, pweassssseeee!" Aqua balled.

I threw my pillow over my head and wrapped it tightly against me. "I already told you that I'm not fighting the Demon King! No matter how times you cry to me about it, that isn't changing!"

"How can you bwee so cwold Kashumaaaa?"

The pillow flew hard into Aqua's face.

"Ow—Hey, you dirty NEET, how dare you throw your disgusting pillow at me! I can already imagine the number of questionable things you've done to this. I would curse you, but since you're so eager to go help me defeat the—"

"You can stop right there," I said as I got up and left the room; Aqua followed close behind, "I already told you I'm not picking a fight with the Demon King."

"B-B-But…"

I plopped down the couch besides Megumin who was drinking tea, and Darkness who presumably made it. "Did you forget I died yesterday and had all my stats reset?! How the hell do you expect me to go and fight the Demon King?! It's basically suicide. Forget it, I'm not doing it."

Hearing the finality of my response for umpteen time, Aqua gave it rest. I helped myself to some of the tea.

After drinking the last of hers, Megumin got up. "I'm going for my daily explosion, wanna come, Aqua?"

Aqua, who was noticeably depressed responded, "Sure."

As the door closed, I turned my attention to Darkness.

She spoke. "Kazuma, I understand everything you've said to Aqua, but maybe you should at least try and come up with a plan—"

"There is no plan." I cut her off. "I intend to spend the rest of my days living a rich and trouble-free life like I've always wanted. Besides, even if I don't go looking for trouble, it always has a habit of finding its way to me. So, even if I say I'm not…I probably still will—and what's up with that, I thought I was supposed to have great luck?!"

I took a sip of my tea.

"Really, Kazuma, have you no shame—"

"Pfft, you've known me all this time, Darkness, and you'd say something so uncharacteristically stupid." I took another sip. "By the way…it's just us…"

Darkness' face quickly grew red and she was noticeably flustered. "As if I'd fall for your petty tricks again, Kazuma—"

"I don't know, Darkness; Megumin and Aqua **just** left, so it's likely they won't be back before the hour." I looked at Darkness out the corner of my eye.

Darkness looked like she was in deep consideration; the thought making her increasingly unhinged.

"Pfft…so easy."

Darkness lunged at me, wrapping her hands tightly around my throat. "I'll show you easy!" she yelled.

"Gwak—wait—Darkness—hold on, my throat—I'm weak—I'm gonna die…please—"

She released her grip; I massaged my neck in response.

"*Cough* did you forget *cough* *cough* my level's reset…"

"It's your fault for teasing me, Kazuma!"

"Who said it was a tease?"

Darkness shot forward again.

"Ok-ok," I said, curling up. Darkness backed off. "I'm sorry, Lalatina."

She stood up again, and I recoiled back into a defensive posture.

"Humph, I gonna run late thanks to your antics, Kazuma." Darkness said as she straightened her attire.

"Ah, you're going to teach at the school?" I asked, noticing the office worker attire that she was wearing.

"That's right," She affirmed, and then headed out the door.

I lounged back on the couch and closed my eyes. No sooner than I did, a knock came from the door.

"Hello, hello, is Megumin home?" The voice belonged to the girl named Yunyun, Megumin's 'rival' and next-in-line for Chief of the Crimson Demons.

"You can come in," I said.

Yunyun opened the door and entered. "Oh, Kazuma-san, is Megumin here?"

I opened my eyes and sat up to face her.

"No, she went out with Aqua to do her daily routine; she just left so I don't think they'll be back for a while."

Yunyun's usual smile dissipated and her shoulders sagged in unison. "Oh, that's unfortunate…um…I have this letter to give her." I offered her tea as she passed me the letter. As I went to grab it, I stopped.

_"Whatever this letter contained would not be good. Besides, why was I opening a letter sent to Megumin. No, not only was it wrong of me to do so, but there would certainly be some type of ridiculous and troublesome request attached to it."_

Yunyun stared at me as I rejected the letter in her hand. She still took the tea and sat down in the chair across me. "Aren't you going to read it?" she said.

"What for?" I poured another cup of tea for myself. "The letter is for Megumin, no? Would it be right of me to go through someone else's mail?"

Yunyun's face turned into one of concern. "I understand, Kazuma-san. Although…" she began to fidget slightly, "it's quite important that she gets the news as soon as possible."

I eyed Yunyun from the top of the teacup. "Important you say?"

_"There was definitely nothing good from this letter; it was definitely trouble."_

"Quite, and time-sensitive," She replied. "If you'd like, I can just summarize—"

"NO!" Yunyun was shocked at the intense and immediate reply. "No, no, that's fine. In fact, you can probably just teleport right to where Megumin is now. She's likely at the same spot. It's this lake right outside—"

"We're back," Megumin announced from Aqua's back. Aqua was still visibly depressed. She dropped Megumin besides me and took the seat to my side.

"*Sigh* what are you doing here so early, Yunyun?" Megumin said flatly. "Are you here for another duel? Fufu, you must've known that I would be weakest right after—"

I lightly hit Megumin with the bottom of my hand.

"I have a letter for you," Yunyun said, her happiness returning. "Well, it's a summons." She attempted to hand the letter over to Megumin who was still sprawled on the couch.

"Kazuma, read it—"

"I refuse," I said, taking another sip of tea. "And anyways, why are you guys back so early?"

"Kazuma, it's not like I can read it in my—"

I transferred mana into her.

"Now you can read it." I began to get up to leave, but Megumin pulled me back. Her strength was getting remarkable…or maybe I was just too weak.

"You should hear it in case we all have to go," Megumin said.

"No, that's precisely why I don't," I retorted.

"At least hear it and decide after."

"No need, I already know—"

Megumin began to read. "To all Crimson Demons of capability, you are being summoned to the village to prepare for a counterattack on the Demon King's army. Please make your way back as soon as possible."

Upon hearing the words "Demon King", Aqua perked up. "Kazuma-san, Kazuma-san, did you hear that? We're gonna get a chance to fight the Demon King—"

"NOOOO, see this is what I was afraid of! I'm of no use there, so you two can go without me."

"Kazuma, it'll be fine. You have Axel's #1 Archwizard to prot—"

"Shut it, I'm not going, I made up my mind and there's nothing you guys can say to change that!"

"SATOU KAZUMA!" the voice belonged to Sena, the prosecutor in Axel. "SATOU KAZUMA!"

"Umu, umu, I'm Kazuma."

As Sena rounded the corner, she appeared at the front door with Luna, the Guild Hall receptionist.

"SATOU KAZUMA, you're being summoned to the guild hall; an elite group of adventurers from the capital are asking for the right to duel you."


	2. Chapter 1: Back so Soon?

**Chapter 1: Back so soon? **

**Part 1**

As we arrived at the village we were greeted by the usual sight of Crimson Demons in their black robes (Apparently, Yunyun gave them forewarning about us arriving via teleport) and arrived at the place I was most familiar with, Megumin's home. Yunyun dropped us off and went on her way to tackle the responsibilities of the village. Megumin knocked on the door, and when the it opened, Komekko, Megumin's younger sister, answered.

"Hey, Komekko didn't I tell you not to answer the door by yourself?" Megumin said.

"Who's there, Komekko?" the sound of Megumin's mom, Yuiyui, could be heard farther in.

"Onee-chan is back," she called out, "and the blue-haired onee-chan, and onee-chan's boyfriend."

She turned to face us as we walked in. "Hey, where's the golden onee-chan?"

"Oh, Darkness? She'll be here later," I said. We agreed to have Yunyun teleport Darkness later in the day, after she got back from teaching.

Komekko held out her hand. "Did you bring food?" It was almost customary at this point to bring something for Komekko whenever we came over.

"Komekko," Megumin began, "haven't you eaten already?" She said, handing a piece of candy which Komekko happily took.

"Thank you, Onee-chan."

Yuiyui, who was busy washing dishes, finally appeared. "Welcome home, Daughter," she said, before turning her attention to me. "Kazuma-san, again, thank you for taking care of her…you **have** been taking care of her?" She said with a suggestive smile.

I returned her smile with a slightly more nervous one.

"Oka-san, can you please stop saying such weird things," Megumin said flatly.

Aqua was led off to the back of the house by Komekko; presumably they were going to the garden to see the tranquility girl that she planted on our previous visit.

"So," Yuiyui said, her deviant smile still present, "to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you so soon, Kazuma-san?"

Coming to the Crimson Village was becoming a rather common occurrence.

"Eh, well, Megumin got orders to come back; figured I should tag along so that she doesn't cause trouble."

"Oh?" Megumin said, a smug grin starting to appear. "You sure it isn't because you wanted to avoid fighting all those adventur—"

I quickly threw my hand over her mouth. "Nope, it's definitely because I wanted to make sure you weren't causing trouble for anyone else," I said.

"Ah, that's right, the summons."

"Hey, are you and Megumin's father gonna be participating in the attack?" I asked. "Speaking of, I haven't seen the old man around for a long time, is he doing ok?"

For some reason I felt uneasy looking at Yuiyui's smiling face and now I knew why; it reminded me of the Demon King's Army General, Seresdina's falsely smiling face. It was the type of look which harbored nothing, but fake sentiments and hidden agendas. Of course, Yuiyui didn't try particularly hard to hide her own.

"Ah, my husband and I will be assigned as support rather than frontline fighters during the attack. We do our best work…**subtly**." She emphasized the last word.

I would normally be inclined to agree or at least believe this statement if anyone but her said it, but precisely because it was Megumin's mom is why the entire statement lost its intimidation factor. Megumin seemed to echo my sentiments.

"Oh please," she retorted, "the only subtlety you seem to have is your method of proper parenting."

Yuiyui shot a damning look at Megumin, but almost instantly turned it into a force smiled. "Ah, that's fine my lovely daughter, perhaps you could do a better job of parenting once you have your own…maybe it'll happen soon?" Her reply could've been daggers because Megumin instantly covered her face in her knees.

"Also, it seems like your crusader friend isn't here today?"

"Ah yeah, she couldn't really come with us when we left," I answered. "But she'll be here later."

Yuiyui dropped her head just enough to conceal all but her smile, which changed to a stern look for but a moment, but immediately changed back to its signature form. "Hmm…guess I'll just have to brew her some tea."

Both Megumin and I looked at each other with slight pity for Darkness. Perhaps it might've been better if she didn't come.

**_-That evening_**

As I walked to the second most familiar place in the village, I sighed deeply. Why was this girl always causing problems for me? As routine, Megumin got thrown into the village jail for carrying out her daily explosion ritual. Aqua went with her earlier in the day seeing as accompanying Megumin to the village outskirts was much too dangerous for someone my level. Even before I got reset, setting foot anywhere around the village was a threat to my survival, now, even more so. Even before I opened the door, I could hear Megumin arguing with someone, likely Bukkorori; I was affirmed.

"Oh—Kazuma, tell this stupid NEET to let me out!" Megumin yelled, pointing angrily at Bukkorori. "He doesn't understand the—"

I ignored Megumin and made a quick apology to Bukkorori which incensed her even more.

"Kazuma, are you ignoring me?!"

I was and continued to do so while Bukkorori went to open her cell.

"Try and keep her on a leash, Kazuma; God only knows this weirdo will cause a disaster—"

Before he could finish Megumin had him in a chokehold. "Whatchu sayin' about me you stupid NEET, you wanna go!"

"Megumin, let him go before you end up back in the cell."

She did so. Bukkorori gasped heavily and massaged his neck. "Kazuma, get her out of her before I have half a mind to put her back in the cell."

"If only you had half a mind to give up," Megumin said smugly.

Bukkorori glared at her.

"Geez…the way you guys go on makes it seems like you'd be a good couple," I joked.

They instantly turned their glares at me, their eyes burning a deep crimson. "I-I-I was just…it was a joke…I'm sorry."

As we walked back to her house, Megumin glowered at me intermittently.

"Are you still mad? I already said it was a joke." I was starting to get frustrated at **her** frustration.

"I can't believe you'd ever say that about me and that stupid lazy NEET."

"Hey, watch it. Us fellow NEETs have to watch out for each other. I won't stand idly by while a beautiful girl berates us," I said, glancing out the corner of my eye.

Megumin grew quiet and a small smile briefly appeared on her face. "Humph, don't think saying that I'm beautiful is gonna work on me, Kazuma; I'm not that easy, I'm not Darkness."

"Ouch, she's not even here to defend herself."

"Actually Kazuma, it's pretty late; she's probably already here."

As we reached the house, we opened the door and found that Darkness had indeed arrived. She was, however, fast asleep…as expected.

"Ah, perfect timing, we were all just about to head to bed. You two should do the same." Yuiyui said with her iconic smile.

"It's still a bit early, but I wouldn't mind a bath." I said, charismatically ignoring Yuiyui's suggestion.

She clapped her hands together as a form of approval and placed her head on them, slightly tilting it in the process. "Well then, Kazuma-san, I'll leave you **two **it."

"…"

I made my way to the bath while Megumin said she was gonna grab something to eat. Made sense since she spent most of the day in a cell. They did feed her, but I recall her saying once that it wasn't very much. Still, with her eating, it would mean there'd be no progression to be had. I was a bit disappointed at the thought.

I sighed deeply as I sunk into the heated bath. I then closed my eyes, thinking about the current situation; this wasn't a leisure trip. The main purpose for me coming was to escape from the adventurers but running from one sure-death situation to another wasn't exactly reassuring or a good alternative for that matter. The long and short of it was that I was weak…even before. If I had my way, I would just live out the rest of my days making money and living comfortably at home…a proposition that seems like the world itself was hellbent on ruining.

Seeing things for what they were I concluded that I had to find a way to quickly relevel…easier said than done. Leveling was pretty difficult in this world since only the person who dealt the final blow would receive experience, and as far as I knew, there existed no device or spell that would share experience amongst party members; a trope which was common in most RPG games and settings back in Japan.

I sighed deeply again, and then stared at the door to the bath. Would someone come in? Would Megumin? I purposely left it unlocked just in case, but after waiting in the tub for several minutes, no one came. I left the bath for my room. The house was quiet, and I saw no sign of Megumin; she must've headed to bed before me.

I slid into the futon and let out yet another deep sigh. I prepared to fall asleep when I heard knocking at my door.

"Kazuma…Kazuma," Megumin whispered. "You're still awake…right?"

I felt like staying silent. For some reason the constant disappointment to my expectations made me want to take it out on her…however, I didn't. "Yeah, I'm still awake."

Megumin opened the door, came in, and quietly shut it behind her. She was in her usual pink pajamas.

Staying within the futon, I shifted to my side and sat halfway up.

"So, what is it this time? Come to make me feel frustrated again?"

Megumin sat down with her back to me. "Technically, you have no one to blame for that but yourself," she said gently.

For some reason I could tell she was smiling at her reply. Also, she wasn't wrong; back when we fought Wolbach, Megumin was the one pushing to progress things, and soon after she was the one who declared to push our relationship past being friends, in her words, 'more than friends, but not lovers.' As if that wasn't enough, she even boldly claimed me as her own in front of the others just recently.

Interrupting my train of thought, she turned to face me, saying, "Kazuma, were you really not coming back?"

"Huh?" She probably meant after Seresdina killed me.

Her eyes were glowing in contrast to her expression. Solemnly, she said, "Do we…do, do I mean…that little…" her voice trailed off, but I understood what she was getting at.

I couldn't really answer her. Of course, I liked being around them…around her, but the thought of constantly dying was grating.

"Kazuma," she continued, "are you…"she buried her face in her knees so that next words she spoke were barely audible, "are you ok with me?"

Hearing her say such things pulled at my heartstrings. Megumin really liked me—no—loved me. At the very least I could say that I liked her…but…did I love her? I asked myself the same question a while back and despite everything, I still had no clear answer. I was still unsure. Was this ok? Was it ok for me to fall for her too? No. It was safer to say that I held off…but why? It wasn't like I was going to get hurt if I said I did. Afterall, she was the one who confessed to me.

"Megumin," I began, "I…like you…I'm pretty sure—I like you a lot…but…I…I've never been in this situation."

The seriousness of it all made me tense, so I laid on my back and closed my eyes. When I reopened them, I was staring at Megumin's bright crimson eyes, her hair draping down gently on my face. It was damp and she smelled good. Did she just bathe?

Again, she broke my train of thought with her reply. "Do you think it's any different for me Kazuma?" Her eyes were gentle despite their ferocious color. She continued. "Back when I lived in the village, I never used to think that I would care about anything—anyone…I found a goal…a person who'd call me a rival, new friends…and…" she drew closer. Our faces were close enough to feel her breath. "then I found you…" she gently placed a hand on my cheek. "I found the man I fell for."

My heart was pounding at this point. I didn't know what to do. Should I kiss her? This certainly seemed like the time to according to anime and manga tropes.

As I thought deeply about what to do, Megumin placed her head on my chest; despite the change in angle, we were no further apart. Her eyes smoldering red, grew steadily brighter as they stared into my own.

I couldn't help but feel more nervous as Megumin slid completely into the futon besides me, her head still on my chest.

"This seems like the perfect time for someone or something to interrupt," I said.

Megumin stammered. "Then-then do something already, you-you stupid, Scumzuma!"

"What—me?! You're the one who came here!"

"Of course I came here! You always claim that I'm leaving you to hang, but you always freeze up right at the critical point. I-I came here and took the initiative so take responsibility, Kazuma!"

"Oi, keep your voice down!"

"You're the one yelling," Megumin exclaimed in a high whisper.

"W-Well since you're the one complaining maybe you should do something. I-I mean, it's not like I really mind. I mean you won't really do it either!"

"M-Maybe I will! Not like anything ever happens anyway!"

Megumin quickly sat up and straddled me. My surprise was immediately felt on her bottom. She recoiled slightly upon feeling it, but otherwise remained seated.

"Oi—Megumin, wha-what the hell are you doing?!"

"Before anything stops us, I'll get through to you!"

_"That's definitely an interruption flag if I ever heard one."_

"Hey," I said, sitting halfway up, "if-if you say things like that then something will definitely happen."

Megumin pressed forward and faces were once again centimeters away. Her eyes were practically glowing as she drew even closer. As her body shifted forward, I could feel my bottom half follow closely. This girl…I was expecting her to be timid and apprehensive in these situations, but lately her actions have shown her to be exceptionally bold.

"I want was stolen from me," Megumin whispered.

As I pondered what she meant, her lips touched mine. Recovering from the shock, I returned the kiss. I let myself fall back down and Megumin followed.

She pulled away briefly. Her face was completely red in the moonlight, her eyes redder still. Both of us were panting in excitement and I could feel mine growing still.

_"How the hell have we not been interrupted?"_

I dared not voice the concern.

"Kazuma," Megumin said in a feverish tone. Her slow, intense breathing and deeply reddened face didn't do anything to alleviate tension from the situation. She dropped forward and our lips met once more. Her arms wrapped around the back of my neck and I placed my hands on her slender shoulders. I could feel our inhibitions slipping away; this was a highly dangerous situation.

If things kept going this way then surely, we were gonna cross-the-line. I briefly thought about the contraceptives that I bought from Vanir and cursed myself silently for not bringing even one of them. I felt Megumin slip her hands to front of my tracksuit and pull down on its zipper.

_"What's she doing?! How far is this girl willing to go?!"_

Megumin pulled away and started working to remove the top of my tracksuit, she did and quickly followed up with my undershirt. I felt the cold night air hit my skin for a moment, and as soon as the cold came, it disappeared.

"Woah—Megumin, maybe we should take this a bit slower," I said breathlessly.

_"What was with this girl? How is she being so assertive? Was she always this way? No. Is she just jealous that Darkness kissed me first? Is that what she meant by stolen? Is this an attempt at one-upping her?"_

Megumin sat back onto my legs, and then started to pull on the waist of my pants.

_"This girl?! What the hell, is she serious?!"_

I was more taken aback at how little hesitation there was to her actions, rather than the fact that she just pulled down the top half of my pants. Just one article of clothing left.

She finally stopped and stared at the form being pressed into my underwear and smirked.

Confidently and while still wearing that smirk, she said, "Did you get this far with Darkness?" My previous guess was correct.

Without letting me reply she began to pull the top of my underwear.

"W-wait, hold on." I said while fighting to keep them on.

She conceded and in an exasperated tone said, "What?!"

Placing one of my hands in front of me, the other held on to my underwear. I pointed to the door with my free hand. "The door," I said. "We should lock the door."

The door locked and the sound of someone trying to stifle giggles was heard on the other side accompanied by the sound of them hurriedly walking away.

"…"

"…"

"Maybe we should get some sleep," I said flatly, all tension gone.

"Yeah, sounds good," Megumin replied.

The rest of the night was uneventful.

**Part 2**

**_-The following morning_**

As I walked through the streets of the village, I kept thinking about how close Megumin and I came to the threshold of what could be considered "less than lovers". To get the thought out of my mind, I decided that I would head to the bar. I could hear the echo of a blast in the distance and knew that I'd probably have to go pick Megumin up from the jailhouse later this evening; really, this girl is giving me no end of troubles.

As I approached the door to the bar, I could hear the familiar voice the Divine Relic known as Aegis. I opened the door, and stepped in.

"A drink," I said to the bartender, taking my seat next to the suit of armor.

"Oh, Aniki, what brings you hear so early in the morning?"

"I could ask you the same thing?" I said, sighing softly, supporting my head with a hand in the process.

"All the pretty onee-chan's in this place of course."

"No, I mean, didn't you say you were gonna travel?"

"Ah, so that's what Aniki meant. Well, I was off to do just that, but then I heard that Demon King's castle was going to be attacked—"

"And you actually came?" I queried.

The bartender passed me my drink, I took it, placing a couple eris in exchange.

Aegis continued. "Of course, Aniki, after all, I **am** a divine relic."

I took a sip. "Of course, it also helps if you get to see the beautiful women coming from the capital."

"Hoho, truly, Aniki, me and you are kindred spirits."

I thought about my levels…or there lack of, and then spoke. "Hey, Aegis, do you know of any relics that can help someone level quickly?"

If there was something like that existing, perhaps the talking relic would know.

"Hmmm." The suit of armor brought a gauntlet to where a chin would be. "I can't really say for certain, but I did hear something about a relic that was able to do something similar some time ago, Aniki. If I remember, it was something that would allow you to move your skill points around."

_"A relic that can reallocate stats. Not much good it'd do me, seeing as luck is the only stat that I really have going for me."_

Aegis added. "Hey, Aniki, if you're looking to level, why not ask one of the onee-chan's to help you out?

It wasn't a dumb suggestion but was inherently flawed; the Crimson Demons were all glory hounds in one way or another. They were very likely to steal the very kills they set up.

"It really wouldn't work," I told Aegis.

"Hmm, really? I thought the onee-chan that I helped during the trials would've been a pretty good one. She seems to have her on her shoulders, that one."

"The one during the tr—"

Then it hit me…Yunyun; Yunyun was the only one in the Crimson Demons that was "normal", knew advance magic, and likely had good information about monster spawns and levels.

I looked at the relic with a smile. "Yeah…yeah, that might just work. Thanks, Aegis."

I finished my drink, and then left the bar in a hurry. I briskly walked through the village looking for Yunyun. As I did, I could hear Megumin's voice in the distance. Slightly farther ahead, I saw her yelling obscenities while being hauled off by two other Crimson Demons. Bukkorori spoke to Darkness in the background.

"Eh, better avoid that for now." I said, turning around.

"Oi! Kazuma! Hey, Kazuma!" Darkness yelled.

I didn't turn around. I could hear the clanking of her armor grow louder as she approached.

_"Tch, why'd she have to come bother me so early in the morning?"_

"Hey, Kazuma—"

I spun around and quickly cut her off. "Have you seen Yunyun?"

"Huh, Yunyun? Uh, what do you have—"

"Have you seen her or not?" I retorted.

"Uh—uh, I, uh…no, I haven't seen her."

I turned around and quickly started putting distance between me and Darkness. I could hear her clanking armor approach me once more.

"Kazuma, wait," she said in a slightly vexed tone, "why are you looking for Yunyun, Megumin just got arrested."

"As she always does." I replied without looking at Darkness.

She stopped for a moment, and then caught back up. "So, why are you looking for Yunyun?" she asked again.

"What's it to you?" I said, finally turning to look at her. "I need a partner."

"P-P-P-Partner?!" she stammered.

Seeing Darkness so flustered was honestly enjoyable, but I hid my smile. "A leveling partner," I clarified shortly thereafter.

"Uh, oh…right…of course." She cleared her throat and then asked, "Well, why do you need Yunyun, you have us."

I look at her with a dubious expression. "You want me to take an Archmage whose only move leaves her completely immobile, a useless goddess whose only redeeming feature would be live bait, or you, a Crusader who can't even hit a target the size of a castle?!"

Darkness looked down gloomily. "When you put it that way…well…why not take one of the other villagers?"

"Why are you so opposed to Yunyun coming with me; Megumin I'd understand, but you?"

Darkness' face instantly shot up to look at me. "Y-You misunderstand me, Kazuma! I'm not jealous or anything—no, I'm just concerned about leaving Yunyun alone with, with a beast like you!"

"I never said anything about you being jealous…"

"…"

I scoffed. "Really, Darkness, she's much younger than you."

"W-When has that stopped you before? You even have a thing for Iris hime-sama!"

"Hey, I only like her as my little sister—that's all!"

"Yes, so much so that you were ready to completely give up on us all!"

"Look, I don't have to explain myself to you of all people so why don't you go find a one-shot bear and become it's clawing post!"

"One-one-one-shot bear?! Is-is your Enemy Detect skill picking one up nearby?"

I didn't even have to look to know Darkness was squirming at the thought of being completely mauled by the bear.

After searching for around an hour, I decided to give up and return to the house with Darkness in tow. Entering, we saw Aqua making figurines and Komekko staring at the one in her hand, drool slowly running down the side of her mouth.

"Say, Kazuma," Aqua began, "what do you think about this one?" She held up her latest creation, a figurine of a tranquility girl.

"You should let Komekko eat it," I said flatly.

Aqua pouted. "Really, Kazuma, you're the worst."

Taking the lapse in attention, Komekko chomped down on the tranquility girl figurine.

"Ahhhh no!" Aqua cried. She sobbed as Komekko happily chewed through the rest of it.

"Uh—wow, I didn't think she'd actually eat it," I said in slight surprise.

Aqua wiped her tears off and sniffling said, "It's fine…I made them with the candy we brought; they're totally edible."

"Really, you should totally sell those. You'd have more money and I'd have to spend less, covering your irresponsibility."

"Humph," Aqua said, turning her head away. "Oh, hey, Darkness, where's Megumin? I thought she went with you."

"It shouldn't really come as a surprise to you anymore that she's constantly being thrown in jail for her routine," I said, in place of Darkness.

"It's as Kazuma says," Darkness confirmed. "I keep telling her we should go farther from the village, but she insists on a certain spot claiming it'd give everyone the best view."

Just then, Megumin walked in, Yunyun was behind her.

"Humph, I never asked for your help," Megumin said proudly. "In fact, I was just about ready to blow my way out of there—"

"Please don't," Yunyun timidly interrupted. "I really don't want to have to explain to my father how half the village became a crater."

"That's totally terrorism," I chimed in.

Hearing this, Megumin quickly backpedaled. "I-I wasn't really gonna do a big one…just a smaller explosion…just a small enough one to—"

"Hey Yunyun, I need to ask you something," I said, leaving Megumin to mumble to herself in the background.

"Huh?" Yunyun said, tilting her head slightly in the process.

"Can you accompany me to the forest?"

"To the forest…alone?" Yunyun's entire face, including eyes, grew bright red. She covered them with her hands.

Megumin instantly grabbed me by the collar and yanked me centimeters from her face; she wore an expression of deadly calm. "What do you think you're doing, Kazuma? Darkness I expected, but my rival too?!"

Usually, I would joke at a time like this, but fearing Megumin's wrath, I relented. "Re-relax, I just need her to power level me."

Megumin narrowed her eyes, suspecting me. "If that's all, why not take me?"

Freeing my collar, I answered. "You'd just steal the kills."

"*Gasp*, I-I would not!" She pointed her staff at me in a threatening manner, but her face betrayed her shame.

"You definitely would. Besides, it'd only before a couple of days; just enough levels to get my stats to their previous point."

Megumin stared at me seriously, then worriedly, and then sighed. "Fine." The next part came barely audible as she twiddled worryingly. "I…trust you."

Seeing her in this fashion made my heart skip a beat, but I kept a calm demeanor. I turned to Yunyun and asked, "Yunyun, can you do it?"

She nodded nervously.

"Please take care of me," I said, bowing slightly.

**_-Later that afternoon_**

I panted heavily as Yunyun and I took cover behind a large tree. Yunyun was quickly incapacitating monsters all afternoon without much trouble. A couple of times we had to run away to avoid being swarmed, but it was simple with Yunyun knowing teleport. She looked out around the tree; her brow furrowed in concentration; she was taking this seriously. After confirming no other monsters were around, she turned to me, and I nodded; my Enemy Detect wasn't going off.

"Kazuma-san, would you like to take a break?" She asked with a smile.

Still trying to catch my breath, I simply nodded.

Yunyun took out some unpleasantly bland-looking bars and handed me half. I took them, and then stared at them worryingly.

Taking the hint, Yunyun said, "Don't worry, they might look bad, but they're pretty good." She took a bite out of her own servings.

I stared at them for a couple seconds longer, and then followed suit. They were bland…and unpleasant. If it wasn't for how dry they were, I would've thrown up.

"Ugh…they're pretty terrible, Yunyun, what are these?" I said, handing her back the rest.

"We call them Demon Wafers," Yunyun replied, eating a couple more; she seemed to genuinely like them. I guess Crimson Demons have an odd sense of taste…or maybe just Yunyun. "We use them as field rations…they help replenish a bit of mana; nothing as potent as manitite but eating a handful of them can give you enough to cast a low-level spell," she explained.

"Ah right, I forgot, you've been using spells for hours now; that's some insane reserves you got."

Yunyun blushed at the compliment and fiddled with fingers. "It-it's not that big a deal; most Crimson Demons have similar capacities."

"Ah, that so? Kind of forget you guys are clan of powerful mages, seeing as the only one I really know always passes out with one spell."

Yunyun giggled. Her face then turned somber. "Megumin is a really great mage—"

"Are we talking about the same Megumin?" I interjected.

She smiled briefly, and then the sad face returned. "If only she got serious…if she really tried…I think she could be really incredible. Sometimes I think she refuses to learn anything else in order to give the rest of us a chance…it makes me mad sometimes…thinking about that."

"You get mad?" I joked.

She smiled again. "We should probably continue, Kazuma-san; it's gonna get late soon. Even with me as your guide, it'll be incredibly dangerous to roam the forests after dark."

"Well it's fine, I don't plan on staying here after dark. _I had enough of that for one lifetime_."

The both of us got up and rushed back into the forest.

**_-After dark…_**

Coming out of the forest, both me and Yunyun were visibly worn down. I was doubled over trying to catch my breath while Yunyun breathed heavily. Pieces of branches and leaves covered our clothing and body, nicks and cuts adorning patches of exposed skin. I stabbed my short sword into the ground and used it as a support; I still hadn't caught my breath.

"Monsters…get…really…strong…at…night," I panted.

Yunyun nodded tiredly. "I…told…you."

I took a deep breath and stood up. I brought out my adventurer's card; casting Farsight, I examined it. "8 levels...another night or two of this and I'll probably be ok."

"Two more nights of this…I don't think I can manage," Yunyun said with a deep sigh.

"Well…if you can't help me, I'm at a loss. Thanks—"

"No, no—it's fine," Yunyun said with a smile. Her eyes were shining brightly in the darkness.

I sheathed my blade and looked at Yunyun. "Alright, we should probably get home. I'm sure you have people worried about you."

Yunyun quickly shot up. "Oh no, Mother and Father will be quite angry. Forgive me, Kazuma," she said, bowing, "but I have to go quickly. Are you ok heading back by yourself?"

"Well, not really, but it can't be helped. Thanks for everything, Yunyun."

Yunyun looked guilt wracked. I sighed and placed my hand on her head. Her crimson eyes glowed more intensely as she looked up at me.

"Relax," I said, "we'll see each other tomorrow."

She nodded under my hand, and then ran off. I stood watching as her silhouette disappeared into the distance; the pale moon piercing through the clouds just as she vanished completely.

"Time for me to go."

I arrived at the house with no consequence, opened the door and stepped in. "I'm home," I said, tiredly closing it behind me.

The house was silent and steeped in a lucid darkness; the moonlight crept through the windows and crawled across the floor until it came upon the body of a slender girl. Megumin, in her pajamas, was fast asleep. In her hands was the pants of my tracksuit, while the top half was draped across her like a makeshift blanket.

_"Was she waiting for me all this time?"_

I couldn't help but smile. Megumin could be annoying sometimes, but it was times like these that really helped to fill my heart and mind with feelings and thoughts of her. I smelled myself; I was sweaty and smelly. I wanted to take a bath.

"Hey," I whispered, kneeling I front of her.

Megumin's eyes opened slowly, and wearily focused on me. Seconds later they burst to life filling with intensity. She darted forward and hugged me tightly, not saying a word. Finally, after what seemed like minutes, she said, "Go bathe, you smell."

I smiled and she pulled away from me and giggled. She stood up and gazed at me, her eyes softened by her gentle smile. Then she handed me my tracksuit and went to Komekko's room. Was it wrong of me if I felt like I was expecting more? I don't know about doing anything…intimate tonight, but maybe a bath together…or a massage? I headed to the bath. That night ended without incident.

**_-The following afternoon_**

"Behind you, Kazuma!" Yunyun yelled.

Whipping around I found myself face to face with a one-shot bear. As it went to maul me, I quickly evaded.

"Light of Saber!"

The wave connected, and in the next instant the bear's arm flew, crimson liquid following its arc closely. The next instant I ran my blade deep into its neck, and then back out. The bear collapsed in a heap of blood.

"Phew," I sighed, "three more levels so far. How's your mana holding up?"

Yunyun was breathing noticeably harder but said, "I'm fine, let's continue."

I nodded and we ran deeper into the woods. These past two days we planned to start deep in the woods earlier in the afternoon, and then slowly make our way to the edge as it grew closer to night. We encountered many one-shot bears, onion ducks, and the occasional griffon and manticore; though the latter monsters we avoided as much as possible. After several hours went by Yunyun and I hid in a small clearing.

Panting, I said, "Please tell me…you…didn't bring…more…Demon Wafers."

Yunyun giggled. "I did, but those are for me."

I let out a breath in relief.

"For you," she continued, "I brought this."

Yunyun pulled out a small container from the pouch she carried. She handed me a spoon. I opened the container and found it filled with crawfish soup.

Pointing at the base of the container, I cast Tinder; after a few seconds of sustained fire, the soup bubbled. The aroma was pleasant and familiar.

"You should eat it quickly; it can attract predators," Yunyun warned.

I shot a glance at her, but she was looking past the clearing while eating more of the disgusting wafers.

"Did you make this?" I asked, blowing it cool.

Yunyun smiled, and then shook her head. "If it was up to me, I'd never bring it. No, Megumin insisted that I'd bring it for you."

I took a couple mouthfuls; I tried to hide my happiness but felt like I failed.

"You know…she likes you a lot, Kazuma-san." Yunyun averted my gaze as I glanced up at her. Her face was noticeably flushed. "…whenever she speaks about you, I can tell she's happy."

I stopped eating and let the container rest on my legs. I didn't know what to say, so I stayed quiet.

"I'm-I'm sorry, Kazuma-san, I didn't mean to say such weird things," Yunyun said quickly.

"No…it's fine."

I took a deep breath and scarfed the rest of the soup down. Using Create Water I washed the container and handed it to Yunyun. As she put it away, I asked, "Yunyun, do you like someone?"

"Eh, w-w-why do you ask?!"

"…hmm, just make sure you find a good guy…"

"Huh? Uh…ok."

_"Every day that goes by in this village I feel myself drifting closer to that girl…have I really fallen for her that hard?"_

**_-Dusk…_**

The manticore crept along the ground slowly trying to pick up our scent. Me and Yunyun hid in a nearby bush with Lurk active. We both stared as it drew closer, my blade slowly rising to its eye-level. I would really prefer not having to fight this monster under the best situation, but at this point Yunyun and I were exhausted and reaching our limits. I could feel her fidgeting slightly against my chest due our proximity. I'm sure there were plenty of things we wanted to say, but we didn't dare speak or make noise.

The manticore swept its nose away from the bush and began moving away slowly. Its tail slashed haphazardly at the air behind it. If it was closer to the ground, it would've slashed through both, the bush and us. Finally, growing tired of trying to find us, the manticore gave a furious stomp at the ground and flew off. We held our breaths and position for several minutes afterwards, and then let out a collective gasp before collapsing on the ground.

"That was close," I said.

Yunyun simply nodded.

"I think we should go now; do you have enough for a teleport?"

"…No," she whispered, as if the monster hadn't left.

"Tch, guess we're on foot; come on."

After several minutes of running we made it out of the woods. I collapsed to my knees and could feel the thumping of blood in my neck and head. Yunyun was, for the first time in both nights, doubled over gasping for breaths.

"Is this…enough?" She said.

Looking at my adventurer card, I did the math; I had just reached the level I was previously. I looked back at her, and then nodded. "It's enough."

"Good, let's return then."

I got up. Immediately, a shadow passed overhead followed by a thunderous roar; the manticore found us. I could feel the heat of my body drain away. Even if we fought this beast first thing in the afternoon, we would've struggled to take this down. During the last two days, we've killed one griffon and avoided fighting both monsters more than ten times, but this time was different. We were exhausted and depleted; we stood no chance.

_"Shit, all I wanted to do was survive…looks like I'm gonna die again; hopefully Aqua finds me."_

I grabbed Yunyun's arm and pulled her close. The look of surprise on her face was priceless, but now was not the time to poke fun at something so trivial. Had it been some stranger, I would've run and left them alone—after all, two dead people was worse than one—but this was Yunyun; Megumin's best friend, and the next village chief of the Crimson Demons; I wouldn't be able to face anyone if I said she died because of me. The manticore landed a couple meters from us and started walking towards me and Yunyun.

Backing away slowly, I whispered into her ear. "Run, I'll distract it. Show Aqua where I died…"

"She looked at me in surprise. "What, you expected me to leave you?!" I said in a loud whisper.

"N-no."

The manticore broke into a sprint. "Go!" I yelled and started running in the opposite direction. The plan worked, Yunyun managed to get past it and the manticore chased me back into the forest.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE ME LITTLE MAN!" This was the manticore yelling at me.

I ran as fast as I could, but sharp pains erupted on my sides. "Shit, I'm cramping up." Ignoring the pain, I kept running until I could see a ravine farther ahead.

"COME LITTLE MAN, STOP YOUR RUNNING AND LET ME IMPALE YOU!"

"You're not very convincing!" I yelled back. I stumbled as my vision started to blur. "Just a little farther…"

A loud bird-like screech split the air and a griffon landed between me and the ravine.

"Of course…_oh well…I tried._"

"THIS MY PREY FOOL, BACK OFF OR I'LL REND YOU IN TWO!" the manticore yelled.

The griffon stepped forward to challenge the manticore and moved past me.

Stunned by what it just did, I stood frozen. It then whipped around instantly and flapped its mighty wings sending me into the ravine.

**Part 3**

Aqua and Darkness joined me and Yunyun as we approached the edge of the forest.

"It was here," Yunyun said.

The trees ahead were visibly split; the manticore came this way. Without waiting for more information, I rushed ahead. My mind was filled with thoughts about what I'd do if I came across Kazuma's corpse—and more importantly—if there even was a corpse; I shook free the thoughts and convinced myself he was still alive.

"Hey, Megumin," Darkness yelled behind me, "slow down; it's dangerous to run so frivolously in the dark!"

I heard but didn't pay her advice any mind. I may have struggled to see in the dark, but I knew the forest quite well.

"Up ahead," Aqua said, pointing in front of her.

We could hear the roar and screech of some wild beasts in front. I stopped abruptly causing everyone behind me to almost run by.

I sternly asked Yunyun, "Is that it?"

She looked ahead, furrowing her brow as she squinted. "Hmmm…yes…yes, I believe that was the manticore."

Without hesitation I pointed my staff and calmly said, "Explosion."

A loud noise stirred me awake. Around me was pitch black. Activating Farsight, I could see I was in a deep hole with large rocky walls spanning its side. Rocks and pebbles tumbled over what I presumed to be the top. I could see the night sky light up a bright orange and as the noise dissipated, the sky returned to its darkened color.

_"Megumin? That's right, I fell into the ravine."_

I tried getting up to call out, but an intense pain ran through my legs and body. I lost my breath and I stifled my yell.

_"No…if I yell it could attract more monsters…in this condition I'll just be food."_

The pain reverberated through my body and upon reaching my head, began causing my vision to fail. I was dizzy, tired, critically injured, cold, and hungry; I knew it and my body did too. It was just doing me the favor of conserving what little strength I had left, whether I wanted to or not.

_"Shit…not now."_

My vision went dark.

"That was reckless," Darkness said.

I paid her words no mind as my thoughts were preoccupied with the idea of Kazuma possibly having been eaten by the monsters I just annihilated moments ago.

_"Please…please be alive…please."_

"Megumin," Yunyun said, "here, take these."

_"Demon Wafers; terrible, but effective."_

I took them, and then wordlessly shoved each one into my mouth. Even the bland taste and terrible textures couldn't break the anxiety I was feeling now. Feeling my strength return, I told Darkness to put me down; after she did, we continued running. I clenched the small amulet hidden beneath my shirt, the one I made for all of us.

_"Please be okay Kazuma."_

I stared into the darkness of the ravine once more; I was conscious again. I remembered I couldn't move.

_"If I can't go to them, then I'll have them come to me. There must be something I could use or do that'll catch their attention. It's gotta be something they'll know at first glance and will bring them here before any predators."_

I opened the small satchel at my side. Within it, was several smaller pouches of eris, my bow, a quiver full of arrows, some sticks of homemade dynamite, a small jar of homemade glue, my mithril binding rope, and a small length of regular rope. As an effect of this world, containers had more space in them than at first glance; they'd be able to hold items several times their size.

_"The dynamite…perhaps I can tie it to an arrow, and fire it into the air."_

As I pulled out all the necessary materials, I caught a glimpse of the small trinket Megumin made for me. Seeing it made me hesitate for a second, giving me a burning sensation in both, the pit of my stomach and my chest. I took a deep breath, and then went to work to create the explosive arrow. After several minutes, it was done.

"Now I hope it just doesn't blow up on me," I said to myself half-jokingly, and then pointing at the fuse, whispered, "Tinder."

With what little mana I had left, the spell sputtered a spark, lighting the fuse. I had one chance. I quickly raised my arms above my head, and in punishment, my body blasted me with excruciating pain. I fought it back as my arms shook uncontrollably. I drew back the bowstring. The miniscule amount of stamina I had was gone instantly and now my arms burned as if on fire. Sweat pierced every point of skin it could, dampening my clothing, and in effect making me even colder. Unable to hold everything back anymore, I yelled out in pain as I let go of the bowstring.

The arrow flew high into the air, and seconds later exploded in a bright flash.

"…60 points…" I said with a weak smile.

Breathing was becoming laborious and I could feel my consciousness slipping away again.

_"Not…yet…come…I've done what I could…now come and find me."_

I closed my eyes.

**[Megumin]** "Stop," I said. "…that was an explosion…a small one."

I turned around and looked back to where we came from.

"It came from this way," I told them, and then rushed ahead.

_"A small explosion…Blast? No—Kazuma, Kazuma's explosion sticks…I told him to get rid of those…now's not the time. He must've used his bow to shoot one into the sky?"_

We came back upon the site of where we first saw the manticore and griffon; they were gone, burned to less than ash, a smoldering crater in their place. I looked around.

"It was here," I said.

"We were just here," Darkness replied. "Don't you think he would've called out or did something to catch our attention?"

"This was it…I'm sure of it."

"I'm not doubting you, Megumin, but—"

"Then help me find him!" I yelled.

I was struggling to keep myself together and it was showing. I quickly turned away from everyone and regained my composure.

Clenching my staff tightly, I said, "He's around here…I know he is."

I could see Megumin and the others, but apparently, they couldn't see me. I was out of options, but I had to get their attention. I grabbed my sword and smacked it lazily against the rock beside me.

_"Nothing…"_

I tried to yell, but it came out as a pitiful moan.

_"Come on…yell dammit…make some noise!"_

I tried again, but the same results.

_"Goddammit, YELL!"_

I plunged the blade into my leg and finally cried out. I looked up…

Nothing.

They still hadn't noticed. I laid back against the wall, and then grabbed the amulet in the satchel. I held it in my open palm, my strength too far gone to even make a fist.

_"Dammit, what a way to go; sorry guys…this is it for me…"_

My will and strength reached their limits and I felt oddly warm and comfortable; is this what a gentle death felt like? My vision went dark, and then world went quiet.

"He's awake!" Darkness yelled as I came to.

My eyes focused and I could see Darkness to my left looking at me intently, Aqua seated in a chair across from me sporting a slightly worried look, and Megumin standing the furthest away with her back to me. Upon hearing Darkness, Megumin's face turned just enough for me catch a glimpse of it; she had tears in the corners of her eyes, but a furious look. As she caught my eyes looking, she smiled ever so briefly before heading off upstairs, presumably to Komekko's room; Darkness and Aqua stared at her as she walked off.

_"I almost died, and she doesn't even say anything to me? What's going on with her?"_

Darkness turned her attention back to me. "You should go speak with her, Kazuma."

Filled with frustration, I ignored this suggestion and instead asked, "How'd you guys find me?"

"It was all thanks to me," Aqua said proudly.

"Ah, well, she isn't wrong," Darkness confirmed. "Aqua was the one who caught the glint of your amulet and blade, Yunyun teleported us back. Frankly speaking, when we found you, we thought you were already dead; It was only due to Aqua's healing that you were able to make it back here alive."

Aqua smugly added, "Kazuma, you really give me no end of trouble, you know that? Maybe I should start charging you for all the time I heal and revive you."

"Oi, I really don't wanna hear that from you; you're the last person that should be saying that."

Darkness interrupted, "We owe Aqua a debt of gratitude; if it wasn't for her, do you how many times over we'd be dead?"

_"…Darkness isn't wrong…without Aqua we would've been completely dead a long time ago. _Pfft, she's just doing her job, Darkness." I replied, waving Aqua off.

Aqua shouted. "Hey, you ungrateful—"

Darkness shot up, catching our attention. Her face was stern, granting her the look of a real Crusader; it was the type of look that made my heart leap whenever Darkness sported it.

Looking from the corner of her eyes, she strictly said, "Kazuma…go bathe. I know my cooking skills aren't great, but I'll prepare some food for us to eat."

And with that, she walked off to the kitchen. Aqua stared as she left, and then turned to me. "Really…you're so clueless."

"And you really gotta stop saying things you have no business saying," I responded.

Aqua furrowed her brow, and then pouted. "Whatever, Trashzuma." She then walked off to the kitchen.

_"Darkness too? What's going on with them? They can't be mad at me for almost dying…no—I should be the one who's mad…argh…whatever, doesn't matter."_

I stood up and as I walked to prepare myself for a bath, I quickly assessed myself. Unsurprisingly, I was completely healed; no marks or traces of what befallen me just a while ago remained. The only indication that anything even happened was the state of my clothing and the stench of dried sweat clinging to me. Aside from the more obvious signs, I felt fatigued; my muscles didn't ache, but I felt tired…my stomach growled…I felt hungry.

I sunk myself into the tub and sighed heavily. The heat melted away the fatigue, and I could feel my stamina returning to me. I sunk in deeper till my way face was halfway submerged, and then shortly after, completely. I stayed under for some seconds, and then came back up. I saw Megumin standing with a towel wrapped around her. As I stared, the image vanished; how I wished for it to be real for once. Several minutes went by as I washed up, and before long I left the bathroom and headed for the dining room.

Approaching the table, I could see Aqua, Darkness, and Komekko seated…Megumin was missing. I took my seat besides Komekko; Aqua was seated off to her right, and Darkness sat across me. Komekko was practically done with the food, which consisted of ribs and few steamed vegetables; the ribs were polished off, leaving her to start on the bones. Aqua was about halfway done; she ate it at somewhat slower pace as she eyed me and Darkness. Speaking of, Darkness barely touched her food.

We went several minutes eating in silence. Darkness still ate nothing; her hands were folded halfway up face as she eyed me intently.

Sensing the tension in the air, I said, "It's not bad…though could do with less meat. This much protein will give your muscles more definition."

Finally, Darkness spoke. "Is this a joke to you, Kazuma?"

I rolled my eyes and sat back in my seat. "What's the problem?" I said, sighing deeply.

"Heh! What's the problem?" Darkness' eyes narrowed. It was the first time I've seen her so visibly wound up. "What do you think would've happened if we didn't find you…if you were eaten…if Aqua wasn't around…if you—" She cut herself off and closed her eyes tightly. She was angry, Darkness was angry. Her hands formed into a praying fist. "—do you believe us to be that large a burden to you Kazuma?"

I looked at Komekko (she happily ate away at Aqua's share of food), and then Aqua. Aqua stared nonchalantly at me and Darkness, still eating lazily. Then I turned my attention back to Darkness whose piercing gaze was still squarely fixed at me. I cleared my throat.

"What's the issue if I'm alive?! I'm here—if anything, I should be the one mad! Don't you recall me saying that I didn't want to come?!"

Darkness slammed her fist onto the table, the force shook all the plates and utensils. Everyone stared at her in shock. She shot up and marched off to her room; all eyes were on her as she did. Hearing the door slam shut, me and Aqua turned to stare at each other.

"Really, Kazuma," she said smugly. "You can be so dense sometimes…it's obvious that you made her angry by making fun of her cooking."

_"Yup, Aqua is still stupid."_

After the ordeal, I found myself lying in the futon thinking about both, Megumin and Darkness. They were both angry at me, and I didn't know how to make it any better. Perhaps it was something that would blow over with time. I sighed deeply, and then got up to go use the restroom. As I opened the door, I nearly bumped into Megumin who was standing outside.

"Me—"

She pushed me back into the room before I could even question her and locked the door behind us.

"Sit," She said, pointing at the futon.

I complied. Immediately after, tears rolled down her cheeks, and she threw herself into my chest. The force knocked me onto my back, but I held on to her shoulders and stared in shock.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm sorry I keep putting you in terrible situations! I swear…I swear I won't force you to do dangerous things again so please…please…"

I gently pushed her back and stared at her. Her scarlet eyes and porcelain skin were drenched in tears.

"It's not your fault," I said. Seeing her this distressed made me feel bad. I continued. "I made the choice to come; you didn't force me into it. I also made the choice to go into the forest, not you or anyone else. Besides…even if I didn't choose it, trouble always seems to find its way to me."

Megumin seemed to calm down a bit. She let herself fall to my side, and then turned her back to me; I turned myself to hers. A moment later, she slowly pressed herself into my chest. I was slightly surprised by her action. As I stared at her, I hesitantly put my arms around her stomach. Her head was by my neck, her hair, by my nose; it was damp and had a sweet aroma. As I held her in my arms, I could see her clutching the trinket she made close to her chest.

"Kazuma," she said, "please…don't leave us." She tightened her grip on the amulet and pressed herself closer.

"I won't," I replied, not knowing if it was true.

Saying that, I could feel Megumin relax in my arms. I closed my eyes and placed my face closer to her. Though we were close, I felt no sexual tension, no desire to pursue more; this was nice, I could hold Megumin in my arms this night and feel satisfied.

"Kazuma," It was Darkness calling me from the other side of the door, "Kazuma, are you awake?"

I could instantly feel Megumin tense up in my arms. I remained silent; Megumin did too.

"Kazuma," she said a little louder.

I could feel Megumin begin to fidget. The intensity of her eyes' color was cast upon the dark floor.

"Megumin," she said now. "You're there…aren't you? Both of you are there and I interrupted something…right?"

We both remained silent.

Darkness continued. "Megumin…I'm happy for you…I truly am."

Hearing this, Megumin stopped fidgeting, but her eyes still flared in intensity.

"To receive the love of the man whom you love…I'm happy." Darkness said this, but her voice cracked as she did, and we could both hear her stifling cries. "I'm truly happy for you…I'm…I'm sorry…I'm sorry that I can't help, but love him too…but I…I…"

We could hear her slump to bottom half of the door. She sobbed quietly. "…I just…I feel so alone…I feel so alone…"

Darkness continued to sob for a few seconds more, and then we could hear her getting up. Megumin shot out from under the futon and made for the door. I reached out to try and stop her, but she had already unlocked the door and threw it open. On the other side was a completely shocked Darkness.

"Megumin?" she queried, her azure eyes staring into Megumin's crimson.

Megumin took her by the arm and pulled her into room, locking the door behind her once more. Her face was flushed and full of anger.

"Idiot, Eroness…if you say things like that, then I can't stay mad at you." Megumin's face softened. "You can sleep here tonight if you feel so alone."

I was stunned as Megumin resumed her place by my side. Darkness, who was as shocked as me, stood staring. Her knees buckled, and then tears streamed from her face. "…okay," she replied and slowly took her place on my other side. That night, we all slept soundly; it was a night that I would burn into my memory. A night where the two girls who loved me, slept comfortably by my side.

**Part 4**

**_-The following morning_**

Darkness and Megumin were already gone when I awoke. Apparently, the two of them left early in the morning for Megumin's daily explosion. As I sat at the table, eating, I thought back to last night and smiled. Yeah, it seems like my popular moment was in full swing; I even managed to somehow progress both paths. I headed to the bar in order to celebrate. I half expected Aegis to be in, but as I entered, could find no sign of it. Taking a seat at one of the booths, I signaled to the bartender.

"What'll you be having?" he said.

I thought about it for a second; my initial thought was beer…but…it was too early in the morning. "I'll have a beer." I ordered it anyways.

"One Crimson Life's Bane coming right up."

The chuunibyou of the Crimson Mages was in full display in everything they did; especially their naming conventions. A couple seconds later he came back with a mug frothed with beer. As I drank, I looked around the bar. Since it was so early, there weren't that many people in…as expected. Suddenly, the entire bar shook; the glasses clanked, and soot fell loose from the ceiling. I sighed, realizing exactly what that was; I would surely have to pay another visit to the jail this afternoon.

I signaled once more to the bartender, and he disappeared around back to get me another beer.

_"It's been four days since we've been here and there's still no word about the attack on the barrier. Maybe all of this will be called off and we can go home."_

The bartender placed the other glass down and returned to keeping the bar. I ordered some food, and after paying for the items, left the shop. The rest of the morning I spent lazing about the village; first at the baths, and then at the various "famous sites". Eventually, around the early afternoon, I came across Yunyun.

"Oh, Kazuma-san, how are you feeling?" She asked, approaching me.

"Eh…well, I'm okay. How about you?"

"I'm alright, thanks for asking. I see Megumin's feeling better too?"

"Yeah, judging by her routine, I think she's fine. Say, Yunyun, it's been a couple days now, what's going on with the attack?"

Yunyun looked momentarily confused, and then her face lit up as if she just remembered something important.

"Ah, Kazuma-san, I'm glad you reminded me!"

_"So, she did forget."_

"I'm actually glad I ran into you. See, my father has asked me to tell if you could help the village out with some reconnaissance."

"Recon? How so? Like, beyond the barrier?"

"No, the barrier is impenetrable so recon there isn't really possible. No, he told me to ask you if you can run some recon on the frontlines—"

"The front?!" I interrupted. That was the last place I wanted to go. "Yunyun, I just barely got out alive from the forest not even a day ago, how'd you—"

"I know, I know…I told my father, but he insisted; he-he said you possessed some skills in sneaking, so you were probably a good fit for the job."

She wasn't wrong; I did have a certain affinity to rogue-like skills and tendencies. Just then, I heard Darkness call out to me from some distance away.

"Oi, Kazuma!" she shouted, waving as she approached with a depleted Megumin on her back.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked. "I expected Megumin to be hauled off."

Megumin pouted, and then she smiled. "Fufufu, it seems like they finally realized my greatness; the greatness of the number one genius of the Crimson Demons, the number one explosion mage in all the world!"

Ignoring Megumin's rant, I turned to back to Yunyun who was smiling at Megumin's chuuni delusions. "So, hey, Yunyun, I don't think I can do it…"

Yunyun turned back to me somberly, her shoulders slumped in unison. "I understand, I'll tell—"

"Wait, what's going on?" Megumin asked.

"Eh…well…Yunyun's dad was asking if I could go scout the frontlines," I answered.

"…oh." Megumin instantly became despondent. "No, Yunyun, I don't think it'll be a good idea for Kazuma to go."

I nodded in agreement.

Yunyun tried to hide her disappointment. "Ah it's-it's ok. It's only reasonable—"

"Instead, we'll go," Megumin replied. "Me, Darkness, and Aqua will go in his place."

"Woah-woah-woah, she never said anything about you guys needing to go," I said quickly.

"Someone needs to go, Kazuma," she responded. "If the chief is asking, then I'm sure there's good reason for it."

I thought back to the first time I met the village chief; I just couldn't bring myself to take anything that man said seriously.

"Besides, Kazuma," Darkness finally spoke, "there'll be three of us."

"Four," Yunyun interjected. "I'll be going to assist you."

Megumin pointed her staff at me. "So there, no need for you to go!" she said smugly. "You can stay safe in the village."

"…"

"…"

"Ugh…fine…I'll go," I finally said.

"Kazuma," Megumin said seriously, "I don't want you to go—not if you yourself don't want—"

"I'm going!" I shouted. _"If something happened to you guys while I wasn't there_…I'm going, knowing you guys, you're bound to screw something up if I don't go—actually…you're bound to screw things up even if I do." I sighed at the realization.

Megumin stared at me for a couple of seconds, and then gave a brief smile. "Then I guess that's that. Yunyun, when do we go?"

"I'll have to go tell my father, then I'll let you guys know when we can go," She replied. Yunyun waved goodbye at us as she ran off.

"Well, we should probably get things in order," I said.

"By the way, Kazuma," Megumin yanked me close with the end of her staff. Her eyes narrowed. "Didn't I tell you to get rid of those explosion sticks?"

**_-Later that afternoon_**

Yunyun passed by to pick us up. Since this was a reconnaissance trip, we packed a bit more items than usual, but light enough for it to not overburden us; Darkness and I were the ones designated to carry the backpacks.

"Hmm…Kazuma," Darkness said as she adjusted the pack on her back, "it's not that heavy, perhaps I can carry the other one as well?"

"Huh…I mean, I'm not opposed to the idea—"

"Yes, Kazuma, I feel like adding the other pack will make it properly cumbersome; almost like having a heavyset man behind me forcing me to ground, ready to—"

"Please stop."

Megumin was saying her goodbyes to her parents, while Aqua was saying goodbye to Komekko.

"And don't forget to give her lots of water and play with her, Komekko." Aqua instructed.

"Megumin, please tell Aqua not make your little sister do such dangerous things," I said.

"Shut up, Kazuma!" Aqua fired back. "Just because you're a cold-hearted trash monster of a human doesn't mean everyone has to do what you would!"

"Aqua, Kazuma has a point," Megumin said. She turned to Komekko. "Komekko, don't do anything to the tranquility girl without oka-san or oto-san around, ok? Be a good girl."

"Oi, you're just endangering more people at this point," I said in the background.

"Okay, is everyone ready?" Yunyun asked, looking around.

"Are we teleporting to the fort?" I asked.

Yunyun shook her head. "No, I don't have the fort marked as a travel point for Teleport and there's also a second part of this mission that my father wanted us to take a look at."

"Huh? What's this second mission?"

"I'll tell you along the way," She said as she exited the house.

We said our final goodbyes to Megumin's parents and then followed Yunyun.

"So, what's this secondary task, Yunyun?" I asked again.

"Well, there's two paths that connect the village to the capital," she began. "One path, the fastest, was a bridge that cut travel time between the two to less than half of the other. While the, 'other', path is the older and longer route through the mountains."

"Oh, you're talking about the 1000-year bridge?" Megumin interjected.

"1000-year bridge?" I repeated. "Is this another one your 'famous' sites?"

Yunyun continued. "Well, the bridge is a bit far from the village for it to be part of the sites, but it shares history."

_"History with the village…hardly anything in this village could be called properly historical."_

"If we cut through the plantation fields, we'll reach the bridge in an hour or so," Yunyun informed.

And so, we walked for a little over an hour to the site of the "1000-year bridge".

_"Oi-oi-oi, this definitely looks like it was a modern bridge."_

"What the heck happened here?" I asked, not mentioning the construction design.

The bridge was in complete tatters with massive pylons and suspension cables fallen by the wayside. The body of water that the bridge spanned was tinted dark and murky, and the surrounding land was covered in what appeared to be slime and goo of various colors; the spots they covered sizzled and frothed, everything beneath it, dead.

"Well, when the Demon King's army had a strong presence near the capital, they destroyed the bridge to cut off reinforcements."

_"Seems like a smart idea…"_

"If I recall…Wolbach-san destroyed the bridge with Explosion and another of the Demon King's Generals, Deadly Slime Hanns, tainted the surrounding area with his slime."

"Well, it looks like they did a good job of preventing passage," Darkness said. "It doesn't appear as if crossing would be possible for us, let alone an army."

"Ahem!" Aqua cleared her throat loudly. We turned to look at her. "Did you forget who purified that stupid slime in the first place? I can purify all of this."

"Did you forget how many clerics you needed healing you while you did that?" I reminded.

Aqua's smugness froze on her face, and then she quickly averted her eyes. "So-so we get some clerics to help us."

"Where the hell are we gonna get that many clerics from, you stupid goddess?!" I yelled.

"This is why you're so stupid, Kazuma; we can recruit some from the capital, duh!" Aqua exclaimed proudly.

"Oh, you mean the same capital that's fighting on the frontlines right now and is likely using all the clerics it can muster to help its own forces?!"

Aqua gave the same reaction as before, but this time she turned her whole body away.

"We can go to Alcanre—"

"No!" Me and Megumin exclaimed.

Aqua turned around and pouted. "So, what are we gonna do?!" She shouted and stamped her foot.

I rubbed my chin in thought for a second. "Hey, Yunyun," I said; She turned to look at me. "How come the village hasn't repaired the bridge; I mean you guys could just use golems and what not to repair it, right? The slime really wouldn't have an effect."

Yunyun looked slightly disappointed. "Well, it's not like we haven't tried before, but the slime's concentration is much higher than we even thought possible; even golems can't resist its corrosive effects for long."

I looked at the supports of the bridge; they sat upon stone levees. Even some distance above the waterline the corrosive aura had eaten away at large portions of the struts; oddly enough, the stonework showed little to no wear.

"It seems like stone has some natural resistance to the corrosion effect," I said.

"Well, we thought that too," Yunyun responded, "but it seems like only the stone the bridge is made of can resist it. Normal stone dissolves like sand if placed in the water."

"Tch, seems like they really had all their points covered. Doesn't really seem like anything we can do as far as rebuilding goes. Maybe we can make a pathway though; it won't large enough for an army to come through, but if a few people can cross than perhaps this path can still be useful."

I proposed the idea, but honestly had little clue how to get it done. There wasn't much wood on our side of the bridge unless we doubled back to the village, and even then, it would mean transporting it from the other side. That's not even mentioning the fact that the forest was home to dangerous monsters; no, an effort like this would be massive, and quite frankly it was no surprise it hadn't been done yet.

I investigated my satchel for a clue, and in rummaging through, I found it.

"Rope," I said.

"Kazuma," Darkness began.

"No, shut up."

"But I haven't even said—"

"I know you're gonna suggest something weird and perverted."

"Honestly, Kazuma, do you believe—"

"Yes…yes I do—always."

"…fine. I concede to your accusation, however, if you're going to use rope, you're going to need a weight to get that rope across; maybe you can tie it around me and—"

"Argh, see I told you! I told you you'd say something completely unnecessary!"

"I-I was suggesting that I be the one to try and make the bridge," Darkness finished quickly.

"…sure, you were. No, I'll go, I have the highest luck so there'll be less chances of something going wrong." I sighed heavily. "Let me remind you guys that falling into this stuff means you're done…no revives, no redo's, no continue."

_"Why the hell did I decide to go instead of Darkness?! What am I, an idiot?! It's alright Kazuma, just don't think about it and don't look down."_

I fastened the rope tightly around my waist and belt, and then looked at the dilapidated bridge; there were many holes where sections of the entire structure came apart. Despite being made of concrete, the roads looked awfully fragile; in all honestly, they could probably give away at the slightest moment. I shrugged off the thought and looked backed at the others.

Darkness gave me a nod as she double-checked the knot she made as a catch, Megumin stared worriedly, tightly gripping her staff, Yunyun clenched her fists in worrying anticipation, and Aqua…Aqua was busy cleaning out her ear.

_"Oi, at least show some concern for me you useless goddess…"_

I stepped forward, holding on to the rope. I uncoiled it as I drew further away from the others. The concrete seemed to cry like breaking glass with every step I took.

"Almost there…" I said under my breath.

I was coming up to the end of the first half of the bridge. I reached out; my hand grasped the railing. I made it.

Turning around, I yelled, "I made it!"

The others, minus Aqua, let out a collective gasp.

"Okay, one at a time," I said.

What I did was simple and crude. The bridge had lots of areas where it was impassable; I simply walked through the areas that could be traversed with the rope and upon reaching the other side, anchored the it so that the others could cross it as a literal rope bridge. They would have to shimmy along under it, but it was still far safer for them to hang precariously over the holes, than to try and circumvent them entirely…as ironic as that sounded.

Darkness looked over at the others. "I'll go last; I'll make sure this rope holds."

"Ok, I'll go first then," Megumin said. She perked herself up, took a deep breath, and then grasped the rope.

As she came to edge of the first gap, she gave her staff to Yunyun, and then turned around. Megumin let herself hang over the hole, and then using some strength, swung her legs over the top of the rope, and began sidling her way over to me. As she neared the end, I reach out and pulled her to safety. She was trembling nervously, although her expression wouldn't say as much.

"Easy!" she yelled out to Yunyun with a smug grin and a thumbs up.

_"This girl…she's about to fall apart and here she is acting like it was nothing."_

I pushed Megumin slightly. She recoiled in shock and punched me in the jaw. I deserved it. Massaging my cheek, I gave a wave for the next person. Yunyun stepped forward, and then handed Megumin's staff over to Aqua. Yunyun's crossing proceeded without incident. Next was Aqua. She stepped forward and looked at the rope.

"Hey, Kazuma!" she yelled from the other side.

"Yes, I'm Kazuma."

"I don't wanna do this!"

I couldn't help but facepalm. As I was about to say something, Aqua quietly hummed as she skipped around the holes in the bridge; she made it to our side.

"Uwahhhh…" We all said as we stared at her.

There were times like this where Aqua's notoriously bad luck would be flipped on its head and she would do things that I would have to question intrinsically. She handed Megumin her staff.

"Ok, Darkness, your turn!" Aqua said, waving back at her.

Darkness, who was still slightly surprised from the earlier display, regained her composure. Since she was the last one coming across, there was no one to secure the rope for her, not to mention she also had to come across with the backpack. She double-checked the rope was tightly fastened to the nearby railing and gave it a quick tug; the rope was taut.

"Alright," she said to herself.

Darkness threw the pack over her back and proceeded to shimmy her way across. I stared at the rope as she did; though stiff, the rope began to sag under the weight of both, the pack, and a fully armored crusader. I began to grow nervous; Darkness wasn't even halfway across and I could sense the rope starting to lose its rigidity.

"Darkness," I yelled out, "I think you should move faster!"

She nodded. Halfway…three-quarters…almost. We all reached out and pulled her across. The rope held, but my gamer sense just felt like it was the opportune moment for something bad to happen; I'm glad I was wrong for once.

Darkness breathed heavily, her face was flush, and she was visibly sweating; I had an idea that doing such things could be a bit physical, especially under Darkness' situation, but it just seemed to be more than expected.

"You ok, Darkness?" I asked out of slight concern.

She nodded, panting as she did. "I was just…just thinking…about what would've happened if I fell into the slime below."

_"Oh." _I could see where this was going.

"I was thinking about how my armor would sizzle away before my clothing and skin would begin to burn in agony." Darkness hugged herself tightly and began to squirm.

"Oi! Could you pull yourself together?! Tch, this only the first half anyways; we still need to repeat this success on the other end."

We all looked to the second half of the bridge. It appeared to be in better condition, though in all honesty, that wasn't saying much; the second half was still far from serviceable and a clear hazard to anyone trying to cross it.

"It looks like it'd be easier to cross," Megumin said.

I began to get the same uneasy feeling I had moments earlier; my gamer's intuition was telling me something would go wrong.

I scratched the back of my head, and then sighed. "Ok…let's just try to be—"

Aqua skipped past us and effortlessly made it to the other side; she waved back at us once she did.

_"I'm starting to think that me and Aqua might've had our luck switched."_

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin said, "I think this one might be easier to cross."

_"Could my gamer sense be wrong twice in a row?"_

I didn't really trust the possibility of this being easily crossed, but then again, I didn't really want to spend the entire day thinking about it. I looked back towards the first half of the bridge, and then the second half; the first part was, without a doubt, more perilous looking than the second.

"Humph," I slammed a fist into the palm of my hand. "We'll cross using the same method. Since Aqua's already across, she could tie it on the other end. Megumin, you and Yunyun will cross together, followed by Darkness. I'll go last."

This time, there was a path through the bridge that didn't require shimmying along the rope. Because of this, we could simply walk alongside the rope for safety. I grabbed a sizeable piece of loose concrete, tied it to the end of the rope, and then gave it to Darkness to fling across. She did so, and the rock and rope landed some distance near Aqua.

"Tie it off," I yelled, making a tying motion.

Aqua stared at me for a couple seconds, and then after understanding what I meant, nodded and tied an almost artistically neat bow to the nearby railing.

_"What the hell is that useless goddess doing? Tch…hopefully it holds…"_

I turned to Megumin and gave her a quick nod. She nodded back and then did the same to Yunyun; Yunyun returned the gesture. They crossed first as per my instruction. The ground they treaded gave away the same sound as the first half, meaning it was likely as fragile. We looked on in anticipation as the girls made it halfway…three-quarters…and then it happened; the ground nearby collapsed, opening a massive hole less than half a meter away.

Megumin and Yunyun yelled as they grasped their only lifeline. Part of me wanted to run out to help, but knew I'd probably make the situation worse by doing so.

"Tch—oi, calm down you two!" I yelled.

After a few moments, they appeared to do so. A few more seconds went by as the contemplated moving on, but eventually, did; they reached the other side. Yunyun collapsed as they touched terra firma, while Megumin was hunched over, one hand firmly grasping her staff, the other, giving me a thumbs up; even this far away, I could see her trembling uncontrollably.

I now turned my attention to Darkness who had taken her position by the rope.

"Try not to fall in," I said half-jokingly.

Darkness shuddered with excitement before starting to walk across. The tension was even higher after the previous incident, but Darkness made good progress. She slowed as she approached the massive opening in the bridge, and then stared down into the slime below. The enormous slab of concrete had already dissolved into nothingness.

"Kazuma," she yelled excitedly, "the slab is gone, it's completely gone; that hard, giant, piece of stone is completely gone! Ju-Just think of what it would do to me…"

I facepalmed. "Darkness, please, now's not the time!" I yelled in frustration.

Moments later, she regained her composure, and then hesitantly moved on.

_"Good…she made it. Ok, now it's just me…"_

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, then grasping the rope tightly, began moving.

_"Nice and easy…don't think about anything bad."_

I quietly reassured myself as seconds turned to minutes. I was approaching the now, infamous, hole in the bridge.

_"Nearly there…"_

I passed the hole and could now clearly see the others; their faces were covered in smiles as they urged me on, all except for Aqua who was drawing in the dirt.

"Oi, Aqua you could at least show some—"

A loud crack erupted through the air before I could even understand it, and the world slowed to a crawl. I could see the faces of my companions slowly turn from smiles to sheer terror, their bodies disappearing as I sunk below their height.

_"Oh no…I'm falling…I'm falling…"_

As I understood what was happening, I tightened my grip on the rope; seconds later, the rope went taut and I was hanging several meters over the slimy water below. I gulped and breathed a sigh of relief. Then the rope shifted and sagged before stopping abruptly.

"Kazuma!" I could hear Megumin yell.

"Kazuma, are you ok?" Darkness followed up.

"Kazuma-san, are you ok?" Yunyun asked as well.

"Oi, Kazuma, you're not dead, right? You didn't just leave me alone to fend for myself against the Demon King, right?" I could only presume that type of detached, narcissistic, trashy inquiry came from Aqua.

"You bitch!" I yelled back. "Once I get back up there—"

The rope shifted again, and once more, stopped abruptly.

"Eek, get me up, get me up!" I shouted.

I could hear the rustling and clanking of movement above me, and then…I felt my body swing forward; the rope came undone and I slammed into the underside of the bridge with tremendous force. The world went black.

**Part 5**

The others ran quickly, but I was this first to reach the edge of the opening; Darkness, Yunyun, and then Aqua pulled up beside me. Kazuma's body dangled precariously; apparently, the rope snagged around his leg. The bridge was high enough that a fall from this height would've killed anyone, even without the caustic liquid below; needless to say, we couldn't let him fall.

"Darkness, help me pull him up." I said, tossing my staff aside and grabbing onto rope.

She took her place behind me and grabbed onto the rope as well.

"Yunyun, stop being so useless and prove to me it wasn't a mistake allowing you to come."

She immediately grabbed the rope, and we all began to pull. Aqua squatted beside us looking at our progress.

"Aqua, can you stop staring and help us?!" I yelled.

"Hmm…I think the rope is breaking," she replied, pointing at the fraying lines.

"Aqua!" Darkness shouted.

"Oh, fine!" she said angrily.

"Pull!" Darkness instructed.

As we pulled our hardest, we could hear the rope straining under the pressure. Finally, we could see Kazuma's leg come over the edge. I immediately grabbed it, and then heard the rope snap the same instant. The next second, I was sent back over the edge with Kazuma. I didn't want to die…not while I still had so much left to do, but I didn't even have time to feel scared or sad before I was already over the edge.

"Got you!" Darkness said, holding onto my cape.

She got me alright; Darkness had saved me…had saved both of us…but now I was struggling to breathe as my cape tore into my neck. As I glanced up, I could see both Yunyun and Aqua struggling to hold Darkness from going over the edge as well. My breath was gone, and my concentration was spread too thin between tensing my neck and holding onto Kazuma for dear life; I could feel myself beginning to pass out.

"Dark…ness," I hissed, "pull…quick…please…"

She seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and used her other arm to pull as hard as she could. Try as I might, the edges of my vision were starting to go red, then black. Then my heart sank even further as the sound of cloth ripping echoed through the air; the tension on my neck was released, but I could feel gravity yank me back towards itself.

"No!" I heard Darkness scream like never; it was a chilling sound that didn't seem to fit her.

This was it…I felt strangely at peace; I smiled and closed my eyes…. A force hit my stomach so hard it nearly knocked me out cold, and then I could hear a visceral yell. As I opened my eyes, my vision was blurred. It focused and I could see the water some distance below me; I stopped, but how?

"Kazuma!" I could hear Darkness yell in happiness. "Stay put, I'll come get you guys!"

_"Kazuma…Kazuma?"_

I looked at the arm wrapped around my stomach…Kazuma…and then up…Kazuma; Kazuma was awake, he was awake and holding onto a piece of exposed cable. His face wore an expression of incredible pain.

"Oi…Megumin," he said wincing as he did, "did you gain some weight?"

Tears streamed down my face, and I couldn't help but smile.

As I held onto Megumin, I could feel my grip starting to weaken; the amount of concentration it took to hold onto the cable was making my entire body hurt. I could feel my entire arm up to my shoulder, burning; just from a quick deduction I could tell the decision to grab onto the cable caused an insane amount of damage to my arm. The pain was unbearable, but I had to endure it or both, me and Megumin would die.

"Darkness!" I yelled, my voice starting to break as my concentration waned.

"Almost there, Kazuma!" she yelled somewhere below me. I could hear her tossing her armor aside as she did.

Try as I might, me and Megumin began to slide down slowly. No matter how hard I tried to grip the cable, we kept sliding. I dug my nails into it and could feel my fingers begin to bend under the weight. There was an incredible surge of pain in my hands and shoulder. It was then that I noticed the blood on the cable; Ah, I see, grabbing the cable while I fell ripped the inside of my hand to shreds. I could hold the pain nor the cable any longer; I let go. All I could hope for now, was that Darkness was in place.

"FREEZE GUST!" I could hear Yunyun yell.

I could feel myself slam into something slightly softer than ground.

"Got you guys." Darkness said.

The water just below us was frozen, but the ice that encapsulated the surface began cracking quickly.

"Get out of there, it won't hold!" Yunyun yelled from up top.

Sure enough, the ice began cracking and melting at once. Darkness pulled me and Megumin to our feet, and then shoved us towards the embankment. We ran with Darkness close behind us; the ice shattering fractions of a second after we stepped on it. The sound of breaking ice resounded continuously until we could hear Darkness yell. I looked back to see her leg submerged under the ice. Without thinking, I ran back, and pulled on her with my only good arm.

The black tights around her leg was completely gone, and her leg was reddened and blistered; the fact that she still had it was evidence to her own resilience. As she got to her feet, she stumbled over the ice that gave away, but with me pulling her, regained her footing and ran closely behind. Megumin had already reached the embankment and was holding her hand out to us. The ice that was still crossable between me and her was nearly gone.

I flung Darkness forward into Megumin, and then jumped…but the ice gave away under me. I felt the lower half of my body quickly sink into the gelatinous water.

_"Shit!"_

"I have you!" once again, Darkness saved me.

It was but an instant, but the entirety of the clothes below my waist was gone. It left me…exposed. Darkness and Megumin stared in curiosity as I quickly tried to cover myself with my satchel (which somehow survived the whole ordeal).

"You-You perverts!" I yelled.

"Huh?!" Megumin exclaimed. "You, of all people shouldn't even be allowed to say that! How about all those times you tried to sneak a peek?!"

"First of all, Megumin, I did so of my own will and if anything, you guys were practically asking for me to look; you should know that exposing one's self near a healthy young virgin boy is essentially asking for him to peek. As a bonus Megumin, you shouldn't worry too much about it…you need certain features for me—"

Megumin lunged and started choking me. "One more word and I'll make sure **you** have one less 'feature'," she said with a low growl. She released me and turned away. Darkness was trying her best to look away as well, but I caught her glances from time to time.

"This is distracting…and cold." I said, satchel still shielding me.

We reached the top of the bridge once more, where Yunyun and Aqua ran up to us.

"Megu…min?" Yunyun's voice trailed off as she noticed me. Her face quickly grew flushed, and she turned away with her eyes closed. She held out Megumin's staff and cloak in her hands.

Megumin snatched both from her hands, and then threw her torn cloak onto my head. "Wear it." she said.

I complied but threw it over my shoulders nonchalantly.

"On your waist!" she corrected; her ears and face were beginning to grow red. I wasn't sure if it was due to frustration or embarrassment, but I enjoyed it.

"Oi, Aqua, mind healing me and Darkness?" I said peering over at her.

Aqua made a face of utter disgust. "Ugh, that hand looks really bad, Kazuma…and you're not wearing any pants. I knew you were a pervert, but to go so far as to destroy your own hand. Such an animal…"

"Oi, oi, don't make assumptions about me and do the only thing you're worth keeping around for!"

"Aqua, it's ok." Darkness began. "You can take your time healing Kazuma…I can feel my skin starting to burn even more…" her voice cracked as she said.

"Please heal her first," I said flatly.

Some time had passed after the Aqua finished healing me and Darkness; the sun was beginning to set, and the temperature was growing colder and…I was still exposed. We walked further into the wilderness as we began discussing our next move.

"Achoo!" I sneezed. "It's getting colder," I said, rubbing my arms as I did.

"We can head back to the village and get you some clothing, Kazuma," Yunyun said timidly.

"No can do," Megumin interrupted. "If we head back, that'd mean we'd end up having to cross the bridge again."

"I can teleport us—"

"And back across?" Megumin interjected viciously.

Yunyun slumped her shoulders and head in defeat.

"Honestly, Yunyun, sometimes I think all the mass of your brain went to those giant bags of lewdness stuck to your chest."

Yunyun began to sob quietly as she covered her face in shame.

Megumin smiled smugly; she felt happy in her victory. I sighed at the common display of cruelness Megumin showed her best friend.

"Maybe I can turn your cloak into proper underwear, Megumin," I said teasingly.

She whipped around with her staff pointing squarely at my face. "Kazuma, you know it's been a whole day since my last explosion." Her eyes began glowing.

"Hey, hey, relax…I was joking…but I do need something to wear."

"I agree with Kazuma," Aqua said to our surprise.

"Aqua," I said happily.

"There's no way we can let 'little' Kazuma be free around so many girls."

"Oi, give me back my feelings of compassion!"

"You'd likely relieve yourself while we slept—no, I'm sure you would, just like you did back when we used to sleep—"

I clasped my hands around Aqua's mouth. "O-ok…I think you made your point."

Aqua slapped my hand away. "I'm entirely justified in thinking that way! As a goddess, I can sense the impure thoughts coming from you at this very moment!"

"Oh, is it the thoughts of me strangling you with your own raiment?"

"Tch…maybe we could dip half of you in the slime back there and not have to worry about it."

"Ugh, whatever—I'm already tired. We should make camp soon before it gets dark."

The others quietly agreed, and we made camp.

**_-Dusk…_**

Camp was set by the time the sun had fully disappeared, and a small fire was at its center. Darkness cooked a simple but hearty meal as we all sat around the fire.

"It's been a while since we've camped like this," Megumin said, breaking the silence.

"Ah, yeah, it has," I agreed. "It isn't bad from time to time, but I wouldn't choose it over a nice warm room and a cozy bed."

"I don't know, Kazuma," Darkness chimed in, "being out here like this…makes it feel like we're really adventurers."

"Of course, the oujo-sama would say something like that; you lived your life in luxury for as far as you can remember."

Darkness shot me a mildly angry glare. "…anyways," she said, "the food is ready."

It was a meat broth with dried vegetables thrown in; despite its simplicity, it was fairly good. After the meal, Aqua, Yunyun, and Darkness went to sleep; due to Aqua's protest in not leaving me alone to watch all of them, Megumin volunteered to stay up with me.

As we sat with our backs against each other, Megumin reached over and placed her hand over mine. I glanced down at it, and then slowly took her hand in my own. Minutes passed in silence, with the occasional crackle of the fire. Megumin edged around my side and placed her head on my lap; a tingle shot up my spine as I tried to suppress my surprise.

"Megumin," I said, "um…there's nothing really…"

She looked up at me with a devilishly innocent grin. "It's usually something like this anyways; just a thin layer…"

I tried to compose myself. "You don't really mind that everyone's around us?"

"Everyone's always around us…" she replied with half-truths.

"…Ahem…I didn't think you could be so forward; you know?"

Megumin giggled. "I haven't even done anything; I'm just resting on your lap."

"Yeah…while I'm practically naked…also, don't blame me if you feel…something."

Upon me saying so, Megumin purposefully pushed back on her head causing me to recoil in surprise. She giggled again.

"I used to think you'd be the one to start everything…but you're really scared to, aren't you, Kazuma?"

_"Eh, is this loli teasing me? Surely, her brave acts are just a front; she's just as—no, even more nervous about anything serious happening between us."_

Before I could reply, Megumin pulled my collar down forcing my face to mere centimeters before hers.

"It's been too long since I've had an explosion, Kazuma."

My mind was in chaos at the suggestiveness of such a simple statement; if I'm honest, this Megumin terrified me, but also aroused me in ways I didn't think possible. Our eyes were locked while I breathed heavily contemplating our next action. Megumin smiled in same subversive way I saw her mother, Yuiyui, do. Again, she acted first; she threw her arms around the back of my neck and kissed me. This time however, her kiss wasn't apprehensive or timid, it was forceful and full of lust.

_"What the hell is going on with Megumin?!"_

She sat herself onto my lap while continuing to hold this kiss; she could feel my arousal on her bottom, and she cherished it. Finally regaining my senses, I pulled away.

"Megumin, what the hell?" I whispered as to not wake the others.

With frustration in her eyes, Megumin stood up, and grabbed her staff. "Kazuma, you remember when I said if I don't let out an explosion once—"

I cut her off. "If you don't let out an explosion once a day you'll explode. Yes, I remember that, but that's obviously a lie, people don't explode like that!"

"I am Megumin," she slowly said. "Master of Explosions! If you won't help me with my explosions, then I'll just have to do it myself!"

"Oi-oi, stop saying things that can be easily misinterpreted!"

Megumin ignored me and began to chant.

"Oi, Megumin, are you crazy?!"

I had to cool her down quickly. _"That's it!_ Create Water!" I yelled.

A torrent of water washed over Megumin; she stopped casting. Her clothing stuck closely to her body, revealing her slender and childish form. She quickly covered herself embarrassment, and then turned to me and resumed chanting.

"Wo-woah, Megumin wait, you'll kill all of us! FREEZE!"

A blast of chilled air hit Megumin causing her stop chanting again. She rubbed her arms haphazardly as sections of her skin and clothing froze in ice.

"Ka-Ka-Kazuma," She said as she angrily reached out for me.

"BIND!"

Megumin fell to ground with the mithril binding rope coiled tightly around her body. I sighed in relief.

"Geez, what's been with you lately?" I said sitting down beside her. Surprisingly no one woke up during that entire incident.

"…Kazuma," Megumin said in a hushed tone, "I…need to use the bathroom."

I looked at her and then sighed heavily. "Take a look around, there are no bathrooms for you to use, Megumin."

"Th-then…can you help me?"

I was already frustrated at the turn of events, not to mention this exact event already happened with Darkness.

"Sure," I said carelessly.

"Ok, just make sure you don't stare—"

"Steal." Megumin's black-laced panties appeared in my hands. They were extremely wet.

_"Wo-woah, what—why is—create water…that's right, create water…they must've gotten wet because of create water."_

Megumin squirmed in slight surprise and embarrassment. "You-you could've told me you were going to steal them!"

Just then, Aqua woke up and pointed at me in disgust. She woke Darkness. "See, I told you leaving Kazuma with a girl would result in this."

"Wa-wait, you got this all wrong!" I said desperately.

"Ah, Aqua, he bound me up, and took off my panties!" Megumin yelled.

I cast her a menacing glare, and she returned it with an iconic smirk.

"Kazuma, to think that you would do something so characteristically beastly," Darkness said with a slightly pleasured tone.

Yunyun distanced herself from me in both shock and disgust.

"No-no, I know how this looks like, b-but it's never what it looks like! I swear!" I cried.

My pleading was in vain, and what resulted next was par-for-the-course; the women beat me senseless and bound me in my own rope.

**_-The following morning_**

"EXPLOSION!" Megumin yelled. She collapsed with a look of complete satisfaction. "Sweet release…" she whispered with a smile.

By morning, I was still bound while the others went about doing their own things. Aqua was busying crafting something in relative secrecy, Yunyun went to help Megumin, and Darkness was clearing camp as she finished making breakfast.

"Hey, Darkness," I said wearily; I barely got any rest last night, "can you untie me? My arms are starting to go numb."

Darkness glanced at me and sighed. "To think you would do something like that to Megumin of all people."

"Hey, do you really think I would?! I'm telling you it was a misunderstanding; you of all people should know I always end up in questionable circumstances!"

Darkness undid the rope. I rubbed my arms and shoulders.

"I'm telling you," I continued, "that whole situation was a lot different than you think."

Aqua came by. She had a look of disgust still on her face. "Here," she said, tossing me her invention.

I took them in my hands and opened it up; they were underwear. "Oh, hey thanks, Aqua. How'd you make this?"

"Humph," she puffed out her chest proudly. "You seem to forget who I am, Kazuma. I made it with materials suiting you; dirt and a little bit of slime I collected back at the bridge."

"Eh—how's that even possible—and slime, like acidic slime?!"

Aqua smiled triumphantly as she crossed her arms. "I figured a couple days of wearing these should permanently solve the issue of you being such a brute."

I threw the underwear back at her. Yunyun and Megumin returned as Darkness began handing out the food.

"You know," I said while taking a couple bites, "this is supposed to be a recon mission, and you're over there making a lot of noise with your explosions."

"Humph"—Megumin pouted—"it wouldn't have been an issue if I just exploded sometime before today."

I shot her an annoyed glanced. "Phrasing."

"Is it though?" She retorted with equal annoyance.

Yunyun blushed.

"Tch, this is why I'm always seen as some sort of pervert."

"Really," Aqua said, "because I seem to recall that your mere existence was to constantly sexually harass every female you came across."

"Ah, seems to be true," I said, agreeing with Aqua. "It's no wonder I never made a move on you."

"Wha-wha-what was that?!"

"Just shut up and eat your food; you've caused me enough grief!"

The rest of breakfast was spent with all of us giving each other glares and stares. Aqua cleaned the plates and utensils, and Darkness packed them into the bags. After, we went on our way once more. The bridge was now nearly gone in the distance, and the plains we walked across slowly transitioned into deep woods. I didn't like forests after so many bad events befell me in them, but I felt uneasy crossing into these; my gamer sense was warning me of the things to come. I could only hope that this was one of the few times it was wrong.


	3. Chapter 2: The Demon Woods

**Chapter 2: The Demon Woods **

**Part 1**

Though it was morning, the surrounding trees eclipsed the sunlight casting us into something akin to night.

"What's up with this forest?" I said.

There were no animal noises and my Enemy Detect wasn't going off; the only sounds were the crunching of leaves beneath our feet and the light clanking of Darkness' armor.

"It's almost like we're completely alone," Darkness added.

"I don't know if that makes this any better to be honest."

No, it didn't; in fact, it made it worse; the eeriness of nothing and the anticipation of something was enough to drive us into a near panic. I stopped and looked back; trees, nothing but trees as far as the eye could see…all uniform.

I gulped loudly. "Is this, are the woods haunted?" I asked Yunyun.

"Huh—oh, uh…I don't…actually know too much about these woods."

"Say, Kazuma," Aqua said, backing up closely to me, "I have a bad feeling about this."

_"And there's the flag…"_

Megumin angrily yelled, "Humph, that's enough; I'll just blow the entire forest to—"

"Oi, do you have to solve everything with an explosion?!" I shouted.

_"The issue isn't the forest itself…or rather…it's fact that we've become hopelessly lost."_

"There's nothing here." I reassured everyone…including myself. "If there was, my skill would pick it up, and if it's a spirit, Aqua would pick it up. We're not, so there isn't anything here."

It was a sound argument, but it did little to alleviate the tension in us.

"We're lost," Darkness finally said. "We have no clue where we even came from; no matter what you say, Kazuma, this is odd."

She had a point; we didn't even walk through the forest for an hour, and there was no indication of the direction we came from…nothing…not even the transition from plains to woods. I looked around for some sign but could find none.

"Hey," I said, "maybe one of us can climb to the top of the canopy and see where we're at?"

Everyone looked at each other, and then silently agreed; it was the best course of action available to us. Walking through woods without bearings could be just as deadly as one full of monsters and hazards.

"So…are you going?" Aqua said to me.

"Uh, excuse me. Just because I'm a guy doesn't mean I have to be the one to climb. Besides, did you forget, I have no underwear!" I said with increasing agitation.

"Please, Kazuma, unlike you, most of us here have no interest in seeing the little thing—"

"Hey, hey you take it back! I know Darkness is at least interested in—"

"E-Excuse me, Kazuma!" Darkness interrupted.

"He's right though." Megumin agreed.

"M-M-Megumin! You of all people—"

"Hey," I yelled, "that's enough! I've decided that Darkness is the best one to climb up."

"Who died and made you leader?" Aqua queried.

"Tch—"

Megumin clarified. "Darkness is the best choice because if anyone but her climb up, Kazuma will be able to look under them, and Kazuma is in the same boat more less. Darkness is the only one who wears tights and is strong enough to climb."

"…ahem, yeah, of course that's exactly…what I was going for…to say…"

Megumin looked at me as if to say, 'thank you'. I averted her gaze.

"…fine." Darkness said, putting down the backpack. She began to climb.

"Hey, Darkness," I said quickly, "your armor; take off your armor."

Darkness stopped and looked as if she was giving the idea some thought.

"Uh, Darkness?"

"That's a good idea, Kazuma." She finally agreed and stripped off her armor before heading back to climb the tree.

"Hey, Darkness," I said again, my eyes narrowed, "why'd you agree?"

Darkness looked visibly panic and her reply confirmed it. "N-No reason, just a good suggestion." She quickly began climbing before I could interrogate her.

"She definitely accepted it due to her fetish." I said, facepalming.

As I looked up to see, Darkness was already closing in at the top of the canopy.

"She's fast, I'll give her that." I said in slight surprise.

We waited as Darkness looked out over the top.

"What'd you see, Darkness?!" Megumin shouted.

Darkness yelled down, but we couldn't hear her properly.

"Darkness, you can come down now!" Megumin said.

"…no wait!" I said in a panic. "Darkness—"

It was too late; I could already hear the breaking of various branches along with moans of pain and pleasure echoing towards the forest floor. Darkness slammed into ground followed by massive amounts of twigs, branches, and leaves.

"Ugh…I'm almost inclined to have Aqua **not** heal you, but…you'd probably like that," I said in a defeated tone.

Darkness lay twitching on the ground, whether it was due to pain or pleasure, I couldn't really tell, but I would guess on the latter if I had to. Sometime after Aqua healed her, Darkness told us the top of the canopy was covered in a mist that made it difficult to see beyond it.

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin said innocently tugging at the hem of my shirt.

"No," I replied curtly, "you're not blowing up the forest."

"Well then, what do you suggest we do?! We don't even know where we're headed."

She had a point as much I didn't want to admit. I crossed my arms and threw my head back in thought. "This can't be a coincidence," I said. "A forest so thick one gets lost just walking through it, and a canopy covered in an even thicker mist. There has to be some sort of spell here."

"If it's a spell, Aqua can just break it, right?" Megumin suggested.

Yunyun, who was quiet all this time finally spoke. "This is odd though; not too long ago, the capital forces were able to come through this forest."

"Meaning this is something fairly recent," I finished. "This is definitely a spell…probably an illusion. Aqua."

She nodded. "SACRED SPELL BREAK!"

The forest lit up with her spell, and then as it dissipated only silence remained. We all looked around, but after some time concluded there was no change.

"So, this isn't a spell?" Darkness said in confusion.

"Not necessarily," Yunyun interjected. "Maybe someone is causing the spell, and not the forest itself."

"But for someone to cast a spell strong enough to resist Aqua's spell break…"

We all looked at each other; there were only a handful of individuals capable of this. "A Demon Army General," we all said in unison.

"The worst possible outcome," I said sitting down. "Likely the only way we're getting out of here is by defeating them."

"Wait, Kazuma," Yunyun said, "I can try teleporting us back to the village; while I personally can't stand for a General of the Demon King to be wandering around, I understand we're poorly equipped—"

"Hah," Megumin said haughtily, "typical of you, Yunyun, to run away—"

I interjected. "Shut up, Megumin, or I'll make sure to leave you here when we all teleport away; actually, maybe me and Yunyun should just head back ourselves and let you guys handle it. Besides, weren't you so gun-ho about going without me in the first place?"

Megumin quickly grabbed onto me. "Y-You wouldn't do that!" She said with rising nervousness in her voice.

Noticing my expressionless face, Megumin's nervousness spilled over into panic.

"K-Kazuma-san, Kazuma-san," Aqua said with forced reverence, "you wouldn't—"

"Oh, I'm definitely leaving you out here." I cut her off.

Aqua quickly latched onto me and began sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm sowwy, Kazhuma! I-I didn't mean— pwease!"

I pushed both away as I got up. "Come on, Yunyun." I said, taking my place beside her.

Aqua grabbed onto my leg, her crying becoming more intense. "Oi, get off!" I said as I tried shaking and kicking her off.

"Kazhuma, pwease don't leeb me here!"

"Shut up! Come on, Yunyun, let's go."

Yunyun looked visibly distraught, but after a moment she turned to me. "I can't," she said.

"Hey, don't tell me you feel bad for them?"

"Well, yes, but…I can't use Teleport…here…"

Suddenly all of us went quiet, including Aqua who's crying stopped abruptly.

"Wait…what'd you say?" I said in disbelief.

"I…I can't…Teleport…here. I can't Teleport us out," Yunyun reaffirmed.

I fell back on a tree behind me. "So…we're stuck…"

"…"

"…"

"Megumin, blow this forest to pieces!" I yelled.

"Aye, aye!" she said starting up her spell enthusiastically. "I'll show them power of explosion; I'll leave nothing in this forest left standing! EXPLOSION!"

We all waited…but nothing happened. No noise, no blinding light, no explosion.

"Oi, Megumin, did you mess up?" I asked.

"Are you kidding me, Kazuma, I'd never mess up…"

"Yeah…that's what I thought."

The situation we were in was serious. Finally, I realized what was going on.

I began to say, "The forest…is anti-magic—"

"Impossible, Aqua healed Darkness, remember?" Megumin pointed out.

"Did she though?"

"What are talking about, Kazuma," Aqua interrupted, "of course, I—"

"I'm saying, the healing took way longer than usual; a fall like that would hurt Darkness, but it wouldn't be enough to trouble her, right?"

Everyone gave my words some thought, and then turned to Darkness. Darkness, who was contemplating my words also examined herself; tiny nicks and cuts were still present along her body.

"The only reason we didn't really notice it was because we had no reason to doubt Aqua's healing. If it were anyone else who took that fall, the injuries would've been obvious, but because it was Darkness…"

"We didn't notice…" Megumin finished.

"But then, Aqua's spell break…" Darkness queried.

"Never went off…or in the very least…had no effect," I answered.

"That's…that can't be," Megumin said, clutching her staff in disbelief. "Aqua was able to take down the barrier on the Destroyer…"

"Which means, whatever or whoever is putting up this field is insanely powerful."

It was all starting to make sense; if there was someone or something in this forest with this level of power, then it was no wonder the capital's forces were unable to cross. This level of capability was beyond anything we've encountered before, and for the first time in a while I felt genuine fear. We usually solved these problems with sheer luck and overwhelming firepower, but this time it seemed as were being funneled into a fight with an enemy that forced us to fight in its favor; magic was a big factor to winning fights in this world, and without it, wits, skill, and strength took precedence…things we were lacking in severely.

I clutched my head in hopelessness. "Well…not much we can do but play their game," I said. "Let's pick a direction and stick with it."

The situation was extremely bad, but it could've been far worse; the forest could've been crawling with enemies and traps while we attempted to navigate it, but my skills…weren't triggering…I stopped abruptly.

"Hey," I said in trepidation, "magic doesn't work…but do skills?"

The others stopped, and the thought began to fill them with even more fear. It was something easy to confirm; all I had to do was cast Farsight. I gulped at the thought of the situation becoming worse than it already was.

"…Farsight," I whispered.

Seconds passed before my knees buckled and tears filled the corner of my eyes.

"Kazuma?" Aqua questioned nervously. "Did it work?"

I turned to face her, eyes still brimming with tears. I nodded. "Skills still work."

The others let out a gasp. Skills still worked, which meant that things like Enemy Detect and Detect Trap would still trigger as they normally would; it didn't really change the situation much, but it was a psychological victory for us. We could at least be comfortable in knowing that we wouldn't be ambushed or step on a trap.

After discussing our plans, we came up with the idea of carving a mark and direction into every couple trees we passed; this seemed to work well for us, and we felt like we made ample progress, however, despite the amount of time we spent walking, the scenery ahead of us remained the same…darkness beyond a veil of trees. Finally, I stopped, the others did the same.

"What's wrong, Kazuma?" Darkness asked.

I looked back; the last couple of trees we marked behind us were still in view. I looked forward…more trees…unmarked.

I shook my head. "This…doesn't feel right."

It didn't make sense, it felt like we were walking for hours, but then again, who could really tell; the canopy made sure the surroundings were steeped in a permanent twilight.

"This isn't possible," I finally said, quickly looking between both directions. "We must've been walking for hours and there's still no sign of us reaching the other side of this forest, despite our markings saying we've been going straight."

The others confirmed my deductions.

Megumin spoke. "Maybe there's another layer to this illusion."

"You mean…" Aqua said nervously.

"Like never being able to leave?" I finished.

Megumin had a point; the forest could've been made so it would seem endless, but no matter what, it couldn't have been. If it was, it would mean the forest existed in its own space…its own dimension, and while the idea of it being so, was far-fetched, it wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility. This just further reinforced the extent of the caster's power.

I explored my satchel, searching for an answer out of this hell.

"Once again, these things are proving their worth," I said, pulling out some dynamite. Megumin pouted at the sight of them, but I ignored her.

Applying some glue to the shaft of an arrow, I pasted the miniature explosive to its side and bound it tightly with some coil. Since magic was out of the question, I rummaged into one of the satchel's side pockets and pulled out a lighter.

"Oh, it's the fire stick," Megumin said with a childish demeanor.

"Lighter," I corrected her.

Yunyun, who never really seen it before, joined Megumin in staring curiously at the lighter.

"What's your idea, Kazuma?" Darkness asked.

"I'm gonna figure out if this is an illusion or not," I replied as withdrew my bow from the pack.

"How?" Megumin asked breaking out of the childish trance.

"I'm gonna fire this thing as deep into the forest as I can; if it's an illusion, something should happen to it, and if it's not, the arrow should eventually hit something and blow up."

"And how's that supposed to help us?" Aqua chimed in.

"I think we can figure out the extent of the spell depending on whether or not this explodes."

"But where does that leave us?" Darkness questioned. "I mean, it's great if we gain some knowledge, but surely, there are far better uses for these explosives, Kazuma."

"Huh—really, you have an idea?" I said in slight surprise.

"I propose," Darkness started, "having me hold onto it, and then seeing if it does any—"

"Why am I not surprised. Look, we can't even heal you—"

"I know, isn't that bad…just think about how much pain I'll have to endure."

"…"

I lit the fuse, and then nocked the arrow, taking a deep breath as I heard the sizzling of the fuse burning off.

"Snipe." I took aim between the trees ahead.

I let go and watched as the arrow shot past the gap in the trees. We waited…and then several seconds later heard a low hum of an explosion; the forest had an end. I let out a sigh of relief.

"So, does that mean this forest is really that big?" Aqua said in surprise.

"Seems so." I replied. I wasn't convinced; it wasn't intelligence telling me this, no, rather…intuition. I scratched my head, and then nocked another arrow; this time I simply took a clump of dry leaves wrapped in some more coil and lit it on fire.

I took aim, and again, "Snipe." I let go once more.

The arrow shot through the gap and disappeared without a trace.

"*Sigh* shit," I cursed. _"Are they toying with us?"_

I threw my head back, and then sat down.

"I'm out of ideas guys," I said in defeat.

"So, you're giving up?" Megumin said with slight irritation in her voice.

"Aye shut it, loli! I don't recall hearing any ideas coming from your mouth besides leveling the entire forest!"

Megumin was rightly surprised at my retort, but then shot back just as angrily. "At least I'm not giving up! I'm not going down without a fight and the Kazuma I know wouldn't either!"

"Must be a nice guy, that Kazuma; seems like you might have something going for him."

Megumin grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and glared at me furiously.

"I hope you're coming up with a plan oh, 'Genius of the Crimson Demons'."

"Megumin," Yunyun said timidly trying to break us apart.

She threw me back as she let go of my collar, and then retrieved the lighter in my bag. "I do," She said curtly. "If the forest is the problem…then get rid of the whole damn thing!"

The line was straight out of a villain's script, but somehow not out of character for Megumin.

"Megumin," I said, "you can't just burn down a forest with a lighter."

"I can and I will," she said flicking it on.

"No, no, you're not understanding—"

"No, Kazuma, **you're** not understanding."

I looked to Darkness and Aqua. "Are you guys not gonna do anything about this? We're **in** this forest she's about to **try** and burn down…stuck…without a way out."

Hearing what I said, Aqua quickly tried to persuade Megumin to calm down. Darkness, on the other hand, stood in place with a smile slowly building across her increasingly flushed face; she was probably thinking about being burned alive…hopeless.

"Megumin, you can't burn down the forest with that lighter," I said, seeing Aqua become increasingly distressed at failing to calm Megumin down.

"Kazuma, unlike you, I'm no coward!" Megumin exclaimed. "Watch me turn these woods to cinders!"

"Megumin, turn off the lighter, you're using up all the fluid," I said calmly.

Megumin waved the lighter threateningly. "You don't think I'll do it?!" she said angrily.

As I walked towards her, she waved the lighter crazily, and then held it inches from a nearby tree. "Get back! I'll burn it! I'll burn it all to the ground!"

Aqua and Yunyun stepped back, while I kept walking forward. Megumin pressed the open flame closer to the bark of the tree.

"Megumin, give me the lighter," I said, becoming increasingly agitated.

"No!"

"Fine," I said as I walked a few steps away. "Guess you wouldn't mind me taking this." I grabbed her staff and held it clearly in view. "Give me the lighter, or I'll break your staff in half."

Megumin's resolve faltered at this threat. "Y-You wouldn't do that," she said with some hint of disbelief.

"You **do** realize who you're talking to?"

Grasping her defeat, she pulled the lighter away from the tree, and with utter regret, tossed it back at me. I dropped her staff on the ground beside me.

"Scumzuma," she said lowly as she fell to her knees.

"You wouldn't have burned the entire forest down; just us." I said, tucking the lighter back into the pack.

"Kazuma," she said, sobbing, "I wanna leave this place; how am I supposed to cause explosions when I can't even use magic?!"

_"I must be in hell; this has to be hell…screw it."_

I took the lighter back out and lit a nearby clump of dry leaves; they caught quickly.

"Oi, Kazuma, what're you doing?!" Megumin exclaimed.

"Screw it," I said. "We're dead either way; I'd rather go on my own terms."

I sat down some distance away as the fire started growing in intensity.

"CREATE WATER!" Aqua yelled, but no water appeared.

"No magic still, huh?" I said with a smug grin.

"Kazuma, have you gone insane?! If we die here, there's no coming back!"

"There's no going back anyways." I replied without enthusiasm. The fire already spread to several trees nearby. "Just sit back and wait."

Aqua grabbed me tightly by my collar. "You bastard shitty virgin NEET; you promised to defeat the Demon King and send me back to heaven!"

"Oi, Aqua, has it ever occurred to you that if you die, you could…I don't know…maybe, go back to heaven? I mean, where else would you go?"

She let go of me, and the anger that covered her face just moments earlier was replaced with a shocked and hopeless look. "But…I don't wanna die…" She said innocently out of character.

The fire raged around us, consuming all; I felt the blistering heat given off by everything set ablaze and billowing smoke filling the air thickly. Aqua still sat with her hopeless expression, Megumin looked around calmly, staff in hand, while Yunyun clung desperately to her. Darkness watched the growing inferno excitedly.

It was then that I stood up. "Should be enough," I said. I calmly crafted another explosive arrow. "Megumin, get ready."

I launched the arrow past the same point, and seconds later the sound of the explosion was heard.

"Do it," I said.

Without hesitation, Megumin chanted the words to the only spell she knew. "EXPLOSION!" She yelled.

A blinding flash erupted from the magic circle far ahead, and in the next instant a deafening roar filled the air followed by a massive shockwave that instantaneously snuffed out the entire forest fire. A flowing cloud of charred black smoke climbed into the now clearly visible afternoon sky. With that, we were finally out of the forest.

**Part 2**

"How?" Yunyun said in confusion.

"It was a gamble," I replied nonchalantly. "The only thing I can rely on…ironically."

**[Darkness]** "But…the anti-magic field, how—"

I cut Darkness off. "It's a field, meaning it has a certain distance to it, and we know it was being controlled to some extent."

"So, the arrows were—"

"Were meant to measure the range, the fire was to confuse, and the smoke was cover."

"And, Megumin, did you know?" Darkness asked in surprise.

"I caught on towards the end," She replied casually from Darkness' back.

"So, what was the gamble?" Darkness questioned.

"The gamble was whether it would work or not; I was banking on whoever was controlling the spell running away from the fire."

"But wouldn't the exploding arrow give away the fact that we were still alive?"

"It would, but shooting it already told me that the caster was far enough away for magic to be useful again; or at least I hoped they were. It's also the reason why I had Megumin cast as soon as the explosion went off. If a loud noise went off near you, wouldn't you be at least a little distracted?"

Everyone, but Megumin stood staring at me in disbelief.

"Wow…I'm sorry, Kazuma," Darkness said, "all this time…I never imagined you were capable of such drawn out plans."

"Oi, you calling me stupid?"

"Ahem…"

"Oi, you're calling me stupid!"

"Kazuma, those words have never come out of my mouth."

"*Sigh* whatever…honestly though, I wasn't expecting it to work; guess I just got lucky," I said with a weary smile. "Let's get some distance from this forest and make camp."

After a while of walking, the forest was far behind us. The smoke, however, was still visible even so far away.

"Well," I said looking back at the smokestack, "if they didn't know we were coming, they definitely know now; it's probably safe to assume this mission is a bust. We can make camp here…while we still have the opportunity."

The others agreed, and we stopped to make camp. Everyone was in higher spirits after coming out of a such a bleak event, but I just felt drained.

"This isn't a bad location," Darkness said as she surveyed the area, "open plains all around us."

I lay resting my head on my bedroll, eyes closed shut. "I've had enough of forests for a lifetime," I said. "I'll take whatever the alternative is next time I get the chance."

Yunyun came by with Megumin who was happily eating away at some steamed potatoes.

"Kazuma-san," Yunyun said, "I recognize this area a little bit; we should be getting quite close to the frontlines, but…"

I opened an eye at her hesitation. "But?" I repeated.

"Well…well, we're gonna have to…cross some more woods."

What should've come as a surprise, didn't. Instead, I closed my eyes once again and readjusted the roll under my head. "What's the alternative?"

"It's probably just as bad."

I opened an eye once again and shot her a questioning glance.

Yunyun continued. "We'd have to walk to the mountains and take the long path around." Before I could ask what was wrong with that, she clarified. "The trek to the mountains would take us days, and the crossing itself, weeks."

The length of time itself wasn't really **the** issue to me; at this point I would've gladly fought a one-shot bear or faced off against another manticore rather than enter another forest. No, the issue was the fact that supplies would've been all but gone at that point, not to mention, I was **still** barely clothed; walking for weeks, barefoot, along a frigid mountain path, nearly naked, and low on supplies is **not** something I wanted to subject myself to.

"How come there's another set of woods right after this one?" I said with slight frustration.

"Looking at the maps," Yunyun said, "I think we came out to the side of the woods, rather than the other end."

I sucked my teeth in frustration, and then sighed. "Where's Aqua?" I asked, noticing her absence.

"She said she was making you something," Darkness replied. "She pitched her own little tent in the corner of camp, and just closed herself off since she's said that."

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at the thought of Aqua making something for me. Knowing her, it must've been something to mock me; I didn't really inspire her with confidence back in the woods.

"We could head back," I finally said.

The others didn't really object but looked at each other with slight disappointment.

Megumin spoke. "Kazuma, if there's a General on the other side of this forest…we shouldn't flee."

Yunyun nodded in agreement. Darkness placed a hand on her hip and stared at me as she waited for my reply.

"You guys are still going on about fighting a Demon Army General? Let me remind you, that we almost died in a forest to presumably, the same person **you** guys are looking to pick a fight with."

"But we didn't." Megumin responded casually. "We all made it out and you made it possible."

The honesty from which those words came from embarrassed me. Finally, I said, "I got lucky…**we** got lucky; it probably won't happen again."

Megumin shook her head. "That's you, Kazuma…if you're the one coming up with the plans, we can win…I'm sure of it."

"Even when I'm not?" I countered.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe in yourself Kazuma; that's why we're here. Even if something goes wrong, you're not in it alone—you have us—and let's be honest…you have the most powerful Crimson Demon in the world backed by the most powerful attack spell. No matter who or what we go up against, you gotta admit, the odds are pretty stacked against them," Megumin explained, a smug smile appearing as she finished.

"*Sigh* where do you get your confidence from. I'll give you points for the inspiring speech, but I have no plans to fight another General."

Megumin and the others looked visibly deflated at my response. "But," I continued, "I will finish the mission."

Megumin jumped on me and hugged me tightly. "Humph, that's the Kazuma I know and love."

I gave a her a light smile. "Alright, now let me get some rest."

**_-Dusk…_**

I didn't know how much time had passed since I feel asleep, but when I awoke, it was already dark. The girls were all sleeping in a group opposite of me, minus Aqua. I got up and yawned, as I looked around for her. In the far corner of the camp, I could see the small tent Darkness spoke about earlier; a weak light permeated the canvas walls and its front opening.

"Aqua?" I said pulling back the front flap to the tent.

Inside, was a sleeping goddess hunched over a small crafting table. She was wearing the construction clothes she usually wore when she did a particularly demanding job. On the side of her was a small set of tools, and a couple articles of clothing; namely, her raiment, a pair of male underwear, pants, and on the crafting table, a presumably, unfinished pair of boots. I stood in shock. My chest felt warm, and I could feel the onset of small tears fill the corner of my eyes.

_"There's no way…she did all this for me? Surely, there's must a catch to this."_

I grabbed the underwear and studied it; it was incredibly soft to the touch and remarkably well-made. The attention to detail was almost unnerving; calling these custom-made wasn't just a term, it was as if it were made for me only. I looked at the pants next; they were soft on the inside but incredibly tough.

"Incredible," I said as I appreciated the amount of work that went into these. _"Where the hell'd she even get the materials from?"_

I looked down at the shirt to examine it next but noticed Aqua's regular attire; the edges were slightly frayed with multiple strands pulled to length. Aqua's pink scarf-like piece was visibly torn near the edge.

_"Did she…"_

"Ka, Kazuma?" Aqua said, wearily rubbing her eyes.

"Aqua, did, did you make these?" I asked. Of course I knew she did, but I had no other words that sprung to mind.

She looked around herself still drowsy from sleep, and for a moment she froze; almost the next instant, she grabbed the clothing I was holding onto and began pushing me out of the tent.

"Woah, woah, woah," I said, stopping myself. "Hold on—"

"I told them not to let you in here!" Aqua said angrily.

"Woah, hold on, Aqua!" I said, finally fighting her off me. "Were you really in here all this time making this for me?"

Aqua turned away; for the first time I saw her grow flushed from embarrassment, rather than drunkenness. She twiddled her fingers.

"I-I wanted to apologize," she said in a hushed tone.

"Oi, you ok, did you hit you head or—"

"I'm fine!" she shouted in response. "I just…wanted to thank you…"

Both of us stood in silence; I didn't know what to say to an Aqua which didn't constantly berate me or say something stupid and I only assumed that she stayed silent because of embarrassment.

I spoke, breaking the stillness in the air. "Thank me for what?"

"For everything," she replied, her back facing me.

"For everything; what's this about, Aqua, really?"

"…Kazuma…even I know the amount of trouble I cause; I wouldn't be in it if you never dragged me into this world with you—"

"Hey, if this about—"

"I've enjoyed it; I've had lots of fun…so, I wanted to make you a gift for once; something for you to remember me by."

I gulped. Those type of words were usually spoken by people not long for this world. "Oi, Aqua, what are you talking about?"

"…I gave the words you said some thought…the ones you told me in the woods—"

"They were meant as a joke—not for you to take seriously!"

"Kazuma," she said, slowly turning around. Her eyes lightly streamed tears down her cheeks. In her hands was a carving knife, "can you please kill me?"

She held out the knife to me. I stared at it, at her, and then slowly grabbed the knife. I threw it on ground and slapped Aqua. She froze.

Taking her head, I placed her face in my chest. "No one can replace you, Aqua; so, no…you're stuck here with me."

Aqua buckled and she fell to her knees; I followed her down. "Idiot…you idiot, Kazuma," she said through pained sobs, "you're not supposed to say cool lines like that, you stupid NEET."

I smiled. "…Aqua…I wanna apologize too."

She lifted her head and stared at me, eyes brimming with tears; she really looked like a goddess.

"I don't think it's a stretch to say none of this would've been possible without you, Aqua. Thank you for being the person you are; despite being a major pain, you were always the person we needed you to be, even if we didn't realize it, so thanks."

Aqua slowly pushed herself away from me and wiped away her tears with her arms.

"As if I'd be swayed by charming words; did you forget I'm a goddess?" she said half-jokingly.

"I brought liquor," I said, pulling out a bottle from my satchel.

Aqua's face lit up. "You should've led with that," she said as she reached out for it.

"I figured I'd save the best for last," I replied with a smile.

Aqua took a swig, and then sighed heavily. "Now then…get out," she said, "I still have work to finish."

"Yes ma'am," I said as I got up to leave. "And Aqua…I promise I'll get you to heaven…so just…wait for me…ok?"

She went silent, and then smiled. "Ok."

**_-Next morning_**

As we sat having breakfast, Aqua showed up with the set of clothing she made.

"It's done," she said, plopping them down beside me.

I looked at them, and then at her. "Thanks," I said casually.

The other three got up and examined the clothing in awe.

"Aqua," Darkness said in captivation, "this is some amazing work; it's on par—no, perhaps even better than some of the work of the best artisans I've ever seen."

Yunyun agreed as she studied the pair of pants. "This is far better quality than the village's shop. Simply amazing."

Megumin, who was examining the underwear, said nothing.

Aqua smiled smugly while throwing back her hair. "Humph, this is nothing," she declared proudly. "I could make something a thousand times better than this junk **if** it was for anyone worth it."

I was unphased by her pompous remark; appearances had to be maintained. I took a sip of the tea brewed moments earlier.

"Would be nice if you could put that talent of yours to work," I said trivially. "Anyways, give me my stuff," I said while grabbed the clothing from everyone. "it'll finally be nice to not have to feel the wind between my legs."

I went on my way to put on the underwear but was promptly stopped by Aqua. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked angrily.

"Uh, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"You're not putting those on like that! It's been days since you've taken a bath, and you're gonna put brand-new clothes that I made on your dirty body?!"

"Oi." She had a point though. "So, you're telling me I have to wait till we somehow find a place to bathe?"

Aqua nodded.

I sighed heavily and tossed the underwear at Megumin; she took them and happily began playing with the stretchiness they had.

"I can at least wear the boots, right?"

"Oh, you reminded me," Aqua said. She withdrew a tiny pouch from her hagoromo and dug into it revealing a pair of socks. "You need these too, after you clean up."

"Hey," I said, rubbing my chin, "it's been a while since you guys have taken a bath too, right?"

All of them exchanged looks.

"What's your point?" Aqua queried.

"Why not make one?" I replied.

"Huh, how?"

I grinned. "Megumin will cast explosion, you fill the hole with water, and me and Yunyun will use Tinder to heat it to temperature. Darkness, you can find some rocks we can use to line the hole with."

"Oh, nice idea, Kazuma!" Megumin exclaimed. She began chanting.

"W-wait, not yet!" I yelled. "We still need to set things up…geez, when it comes to explosions you really have no restraint, do you?"

"Kazuma, you know the power of explosions cannot be contained; even a being as remarkable as me can only hold it—"

"Sure, sure, I get it, you chuuni."

Soon things were in place; Darkness managed to amass (after considerable time) many stones for which to line the bath, Megumin cast explosion, fine-tuning it make it the perfect size, Aqua filled it with purified water and as a bonus even managed to cut some of the stones to shape, and finally me and Yunyun brought the water to a near boil. We all stood back to marvel at our work, and then noticed something essential.

"Umm…this is a mixed bath." Darkness said.

She stared at the girls, and then they all stared at me.

"Hey-hey, I just wanna take a bath," I said desperately.

"Sure, you do, Kazuma," Megumin said. "I trust you, but I know that both Darkness and Yunyun here will entice you with the tumors they got growing from their chests."

Megumin slapped Yunyun's breasts violently. Yunyun shielded herself and sobbed quietly after the assault stopped.

"Eh, I can just wait on the other side of camp if you guys are that worried about me peeking," I said calmly.

After exchanging looks, the girls nodded, and I went on my way. Once on the other side of camp, I quickly hid behind Aqua's tent and cast Farsight.

_"The fools, they actually believed I would pass up a chance to see the bare nakedness of a woman's body?! How naïve."_

As I peered at the distant bath, the image of the girls undressing was beginning to disappear; the steam had begun to obscure them.

_"Dammit, I forgot about the steam."_

I moved closer, throwing myself on the ground and crawling towards the bath. Casting lurk, I allowed myself to move closer than what would've been reasonable. Success, the closing of distance allowed me to see the girls who were now neck-deep into the steamy water. I smiled deviously as I eyed the silhouettes of their bodily features.

"Enjoying yourself?" I heard Megumin say from behind me.

"Huh?" I whipped around onto my back. "W-w-w-what are you doing here, Megumin?" I asked nervously, stealing glances towards the bath.

Megumin was covered by a towel, her hair was tied in a bun; she, indeed, was prepared to bathe. She crossed her arms, and stepped forward, purposely stomping down on her cloak I wore as pants and missing 'the sword in the stone' by mere centimeters.

"How naïve do you think I am?" Megumin said, bending over and grabbing me by my collar.

I had a clear view of her chest…but…there wasn't much to look at; the disappointment was written clearly on my face. Noticing where my view was sitting at, Megumin pieced two-and two together and let go of me to shield herself in embarrassment.

"Eh, it's not a terrible view, but—"

Megumin instantly turned around and stomped on me furiously. As I curled up in defense, she wedged her foot between my legs, and slowly began to put down pressure. I quickly reacted and grabbed her foot, yanking it and throwing her off balance in the process. As she fell back, I quickly jumped up, and now, placed my foot over her sensitives.

Megumin, in pure shock, eyed my foot, and then me. "Y-You wouldn't," she said with a nervous gulp.

I smiled devilishly. "Fufufu…Megumin…you should know by now…I'M A MAN OF TRUE GENDER EQUALITY!"

"GOD BLOW!"

I could feel my back crack as I flew forward several feet and tumble into a crippled heap.

"I should've known you were up to something so deviant, Kazuma!" Aqua yelled. "No matter if you use Lurk, your disgusting lust-filled aura is still easy to pick up!"

As a stumbled to my feet, I could see Darkness join Aqua, and Yunyun comforting an angry Megumin. As I fixated on their towel-wrapped and moistened bodies, the four of them surrounded me. This didn't look good.

"Hah, you guys think cause you outnumber me you can win?" I took an offensive posture.

The girls did the same.

"Forgive me!" I yelled, prostrating myself.

"Oi!" Megumin snarled, walking up to me. She placed her foot on my head. "Just how naïve—"

"Got you." I said, grabbing her foot and casting Drain Touch.

Megumin instantly collapsed while the others were taken aback by the preemptive attack. Pushing the initiative, I dashed over to Darkness. Noticing my intent, Darkness jumped back while guarding herself.

"Too easy!" I yelled as I cast Freeze on the ground behind her.

Darkness instantly slipped and fell onto her back, not a moment later, I grasped her neck and used Drain Touch. She grabbed my arm in protest but overcome by the pleasure of my ferocity and the simultaneously copious intensity of Drain Touch, Darkness was rendered incapacitated. As I got up to stare the other two down, I could see that they were both completely frozen at the viciousness of my attack.

I grinned, while reaching my hands out. "Give up, Aqua and I'll let you off easy; half your allowance for a month."

Saying this brought Aqua back to her senses. "Eh, seems like a certain hikkiNEET has gotten overconfident. You're messing with a goddess, boy!"

We both circled around each other as we waited for the other's next intent. Yunyun stood by completely stunned at what just unfolded.

_"I can't use Drain Touch on Aqua; that stupid girl has way too much mana for it to be effective, but If I can take her out, then this victory is as good as mine."_

I smirked and Aqua prepared to defend herself with multiple support spells.

"Too late!" I yelled. "STEAL!"

After a bright flash, I held Aqua's towel in my hands. Noticing this Aqua instantly ducked down and covered herself.

"K-Kazuma you scumbag! I'm a goddess, have you no shame?!"

I began to laugh almost maniacally at the remark. "Give up," I said, after calming down slightly.

Aqua was visibly frustrated at the prospect of losing in such an embarrassing way.

"N-N—"

_"Is she not gonna give up?"_

"—NATURE'S BEAUTY!" Aqua yelled.

For a moment, I could see the entirety of Aqua's naked body, and I froze. My mind was overcome by several emotions that seriously conflicted; Aqua had achieved a devastating psychological attack on my psyche without even knowing.

"Now!" I heard her saying.

"FREEZE BIND!"

Yunyun's spell hit me and I was instantly encased in ice. Aqua walked over to me, a blanket from one of the nearby bedrolls covered her. She smashed the ice clear from my head and face. A vein was visibly throbbing in the corner of her head.

"Hey, Kazuma," she said in a low and threatening voice, "I hope you don't mind if we take our time."

I could hear a hand grasp my shoulder tightly, enough to crack the ice, and then another on the opposite side with the same effect. Megumin's and Darkness faces appeared alongside my own; one smirking deviously, the other with angry embarrassment.

_"*Sigh*...I lost."_

For the next couple of minutes, I was savagely beaten to within an inch of my life, bound by my mithril cable, and blindfolded. The girls enjoyed their bath in peace after which, I was allowed to bathe. Needless to say, I could barely move and would almost drown several times throughout my own bathing process.

**Part 3**

**_-That afternoon_**

I survived my bath, and now laid on my bedroll with a new set of clothes; it felt good to have something covering my bottom half once more. The quality of the clothing was confirmed; it felt far better than anything I wore before, even in Japan. In fact, the discrepancy between the quality of the top half of my clothing, and the newly made bottom, was jarring. I almost wanted to ask Aqua to make me a matching shirt and cloak, but I remembered how much effort she put into making what she did…and more importantly, what it meant for her to have done so.

Darkness approached me. "If we're planning on continuing, we should probably do so by next light," She informed.

I agreed; traveling at night wasn't a very good idea. She sat down beside me.

"How's it feel?" She asked.

"The clothes?" I queried. "They're really good."

Darkness cast her eyes slightly low, her eyes softened, and she looked marginally sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Oh—nothing," she replied. "I just…"

I closed my eyes and sighed. "You don't have to get me anything."

Darkness quickly turned her gaze to me; she was visibly shocked. "H-How—I mean—"

"It's obvious," I said with a wry smile, "all you guys trying to give me gifts…heh…I say it's about time you guys realized how great I am."

Darkness giggled; it betrayed her stoic and knightly demeanor. "Still…I think of it…but…"

I sat up beside her. "Don't worry about it too much; truth be told, I'm a pretty easy guy to please."

Darkness stared at me curiously, and then drooped her head slightly. "I think I know how to repay you, but…"

"You're worried about Megumin."

"…"

I sighed deeply. I couldn't really counsel her further on the topic; it was simple but made complicated. Relationships, by their very nature, operated in this fashion.

Darkness continued, "It's why I'm trying to find another way. I think if I travel long enough with you guys, I'll find it; a way to repay you for all you've done for me."

"Heh, I'm not sure what we've done for you but cause you trouble."

"True." Darkness smiled. "But there are far more moments where I couldn't imagine myself being without you guys. Despite all those troubles, I can remember the singular moments where I'm affirmed that my place lies beside you." Darkness quickly amended the ending. "Besides you all." She stared up at the sky as she said so, her ears reddened with embarrassment.

"Hey," I said, getting to my feet. "You guys are doing what you can to repay me, so I'd like to do something for you too. It won't be anything crazy, but I'll cook tonight. Afterall, you've been handling it for the past few days; I figured, you'd want a break as well."

I reached out and pulled Darkness to her feet. As she got up, she stumbled forward, stopping mere centimeters from my face. She quickly backed off and with intense awkwardness said, "I'm-I'm sorry. I-I'll go tell the others…about"—her voice squeaked—"about the food."

I was still in surprise as Darkness walked away, but quickly recomposed myself.

"Well, time to prepare for dinner," I said with a slight smile.

After a couple of hours passed, I completed a full-course meal with the limited supplies available. My cooking skill improved so greatly over the last couple of weeks, that my finesse with meal prep was fast approaching Aqua's level of intricacy with art; I could now make a lot, with little. The girls sat around the food which was laid out in two straight lines besides the fire.

"Amazing," Yunyun said eyeing the amount and quality of the food arrayed before her.

Megumin and Aqua had already started eating away at the different dishes, while Darkness picked out specific types. I joined them after witnessing the smiles the food gave them.

"This calls for a drink," Aqua said, pulling a large bottle of liquor from the rucksack nearby.

"When doesn't it?" I retorted.

"Shut it, Kazuma. The food is good, but without drinks, it's simply lackluster."

"Eh, so I guess you don't mind me taking your plate then?"

Aqua quickly grabbed her plate. "Sorry…it's very good."

I smiled and poured the liquor out into several mugs Aqua had placed.

"Four cups?" Megumin said. "Hey, Kazuma, you're missing one."

We had made it a point to not serve Megumin alcohol whenever possible, but after a few drinks were had she managed to pour herself some anyways; despite this, Megumin rarely ended up drunk, usually drinking very little. Realizing this, I grabbed another mug and filled it till it was half full. Megumin looked at it, and then back at me; she must've figured I was belittling her and forced me to pour more.

"That's enough for you, Megumin," I said.

"I'm an adult; I can handle more!" She retorted.

"Either you drink that amount, or you don't drink at all."

With this ultimatum, she backed down. Minutes passed into hours of drinking, laughing, and eating. Eventually, it ended the same as always; Aqua passed out drunk, a pile of her own vomit not too far away and Darkness also passed out drunk, murmuring in her sleep. Megumin and Yunyun were still awake with Megumin clearly inebriated and Yunyun practically sober. I was tipsy, but overall still coherent; my movement was a bit sluggish, but I could still follow a conversation. I made my way to the two still awake girls and sat down beside them.

"Oh, Kashuma," Megumin said holding on to my shirt as she tried to steady her head.

"Oi, Megumin, I think you had enough," I said with a smirk.

"I kept trying to tell her to stop, but she won't listen," Yunyun said worriedly.

"Shut...up, Yunyun. Your…big…ugh…big…breasts…are…ughhh." Megumin placed her head on my chest.

"…please don't throw up on me," I said dryly.

Megumin clenched my shirt tightly and looked up at me; she was visibly tormented by the feeling of being drunk. Had Yunyun not been present, I was more than sure that she would be crying her eyes out; instead, she put up a tough front. In fact, had Yunyun not been present, it was likely she would've never drunk enough to get this way. Megumin swayed over to Yunyun, and reaching out, grasped her shirt, pulling it down as she fell forward; Yunyun's bare chest was exposed. It took a second, but Yunyun yelled in embarrassment and threw her hands over her chest, shielding herself.

"Fufufu, I…win," Megumin said while she lay face-forward on the ground.

"Nice breasts," I said with a thumbs up.

"No!" Yunyun cried.

Megumin, who I thought passed out, climbed onto Yunyun causing both to fall to the ground. Pinning Yunyun's hands down, and consequently, exposing her chest again, Megumin said, "Concede…ughh." Her head drooped as she fought back the dizzying spell of intoxication.

"Ok, ok," Yunyun cried. "You win, you win." She squirmed under Megumin's grasp.

I sat back enjoying all this display had to offer.

"Ha…I win…again," Megumin said, falling over on her side.

Seconds later, she rolled onto all fours and vomited. She fell on to her side again; sweat pocked her face causing her hair to stick to it. By the time I looked back to Yunyun, she had already fixed her shirt and was sobbing deeply. I got up, and as I went to pick up Megumin, patted Yunyun's head.

"Good night," I said to Yunyun, picking up Megumin, and then walked off towards our cots.

**_-Next morning_**

The following morning, we headed towards our next destination. Megumin and Yunyun walked together, both traumatized by last night's event. Megumin, grasping her staff tightly, used it as a brace; though she was no longer drunk, the aftereffects were in full display. Yunyun, who was in far better condition physically, covered her face as she walked; she muttered quietly to herself every so often.

Darkness leaned over to me as we walked, and whispered, "What did you do, Kazuma?"

I glared at her in response. "Why're you assuming I did something; **I** didn't do anything. Basically, Megumin's drinking got out of hand; you know the two of them always have to put on a show for each other."

Aqua leaned her head back on her hands as she added, "And of course you took advantage of them both."

"Oi, is that how you guys really see me?"

Both averted their eyes.

"Hey, even I have standards! I would never take advantage of a weakened and fragile girl, even if she offered herself to me in a drunken stupor."

Darkness looked at me half-worryingly and with a hint of pity. "That's oddly specific, Kazuma."

"It's just a hypothetical scenario, Darkness, calm down."

"When it comes to savage, lust-filled tendencies, I'd say it's well within your court." Aqua retorted.

"Tch." Ignoring Aqua's comment, I yelled out to Yunyun. "Hey, Yunyun, how much farther to the forest?"

Megumin clutched the rim of her hat and pulled down hard on it. "Ugh, Kazuma, please…shhh," She said quietly.

Yunyun spoke through her hands. "…we should almost be there."

After hearing her response, I turned my attention back to the other two walking besides me. "We drank all the liquor we had last night, so this should be the last drinking situation we have till we reach a city or something."

Aqua gasped with a look of morbid disappointment. "N-No more liquor?"

"What the hell did you think; you drank the majority of everything we brought out!" I said angrily.

"W-what, it's my only comfort!" Aqua replied anxiously.

"I don't know what's worse, the fact that you just casually admitted you have a problem with alcohol or the fact that you're an alcoholic goddess."

"Hey, I'm totally in control of how much I drink! I'm just festive is all; I like having a good time. It's easy to see how you wouldn't understand, being a hikiNEET and all."

"Eh, I had fun in my own ways!"

"I'm sure they included a lot of sweaty nights of you staring at your computer screen."

"Oh, what's this?" I said bringing out a small bottle. "Oh, it looks like we had another bottle left."

Aqua's eyes instantly locked to the container. "T-That's my—"

I raised my arm to quickly smash the bottle into the ground, but Aqua grabbed my arm. As I struggled to fight her off, she sobbed and pleaded uncontrollably. After she apologized to me profusely, I shoved the bottle of alcohol into her chest; she happily accepted it, caressing it as if it were her own child. We walked for a few more minutes before finally reaching the edge of the forest.

"I guess this is it?" I said to Yunyun, who still covered her face in embarrassment.

She nodded; I figured she was peering through her fingers.

"*Sigh* I really don't like this."

"We should probably see if we can use magic before we head in," Darkness suggested.

It was a good idea. I casted Create Water in Aqua's face. "Seems like magic works," I said with a smug grin.

She grabbed my collar with a fist raised.

"Steal." The small bottle appeared in my hand once more.

Aqua instantly backed off and pleasantly bowed saying "sorry" many times, a forced smile on her face.

"Seems like skills work too," I added.

I turned back towards the edge of the forest, and then sighed deeply. "Alright, let's get this over with."

"Kazuma," Megumin said, groggily walking over to me. She placed her head on my chest. "I don't feel so good; can we wait a little longer?"

I grabbed the locks of her hair and pulled on them. She darted back, grasping at them, tears in the corner of her eyes.

"We're not waiting," I said dryly. "It's your fault for getting drunk, in spite of me telling you not to drink that much."

Realizing she was wholly at fault, Megumin gave in, drooping her head in silence.

"Alright…let's go," I said once more.

Upon entering the forest, we could immediately feel the difference in atmosphere; these woods were full of the various noises one could expect, and though the canopy was thick, light could still reach the forest floor. It would've been easy to assume everything was as it should be, but if the experiences I had in this world and worlds like it taught me anything, it was that appearances were often deceiving and expectations, meant to be shattered.

As we continued walking through, my Enemy Detect skill activated, warning me of a bunch of hostiles some ways ahead of us. I quickly put my arm out to stop everyone, informing them of the information I acquired.

"Enemies ahead," I whispered. "I knew it couldn't have been easy."

Everyone readied themselves for a fight and waited on my orders. I looked farther ahead with Farsight and instantly saw what had activated my skill. I lowered my arm and turned to the rest of the team.

"We probably should find another way around," I said, noticeably disturbed by what I saw.

"Huh, what did you see, Kazuma?" Darkness asked, lowering her sword slightly.

What I saw was an entire pasture of tranquility girls with a single tranquility queen set in its center. Dealing with one of these creatures was bad enough, but the amount that was present here could easily cause problems even for me. Obviously, I couldn't tell the others what I saw; if the past was anything to go by, they would try their best to prevent me from killing these wolves in sheep's clothing.

I cleared my throat. "Manticore…like lots," I said as I tried to keep a straight face.

I could see Megumin raise an eyebrow.

_"Not now please."_

"A bunch of manticores you say?" Megumin said with a smirk.

"Yeah, lots and lots—like a bunch—like more than ten—no thirty." I lied…badly.

The others bought my lie initially, but as it became more and more far-fetched their eyes began to narrow in suspicion.

"Thirty manticores?" Darkness said in disbelief. "That amount would ruin an ecosystem. In fact, if there are that many, it would be irresponsible of us to leave them be."

Darkness began to step forward, but I placed an outstretched arm in front of her.

"Darkness, there's thirty manticores out there; if we get into a fight with—"

As I explained, I could hear Megumin starting to chant.

"Hey, w-wait, Megumin!"

It was too late, Megumin managed to get her chant off and obliterate the entire section of forest just ahead of us. She smirked as she lay on the ground, admiring the level of destruction she had wrought.

"You said thirty manticores?" she said, pulling out her adventurer card. As she gazed at the recent kill list, her smile slowly disappeared. "…manticores, huh?"

She flipped her card to show off the list to everyone; there, in bold letters, it clearly read, numerous amounts of tranquility girls with a Queen thrown into the lot.

Aqua screamed in utter terror. "You monster!" she yelled, furiously shaking me.

"It wasn't—I didn't even kill them!" I said as I tried to break free.

"You deceived us!" Megumin said, adding fuel to the fire.

I finally broke free from Aqua and fixed my shirt. "So, what! They're monsters, **they **deceive people; we've been through this before. In fact, Megumin just did **everyone** a huge favor by taking out that entire meadow. Can you imagine how many people they've killed to grow that much?!"

It was a fact they hadn't considered. While the others absorbed this realization, Aqua dismissed it wholeheartedly.

"To think that you could murder that many innocent creatures with batting an eye, Kazuma! I used to have some hope for you that someday you could be decent, but—"

"Oh, shut up! Maybe the next time we meet another one of those accursed plants, you could go and keep them company forever; I'd love to come back and visit the fresh fertilizer they'd make out of you."

"Th-They're not like that!" Aqua retorted. She looked to the others for support; they averted their eyes. "I can't believe you guys are siding with him!"

"Oh, yeah? That one Tranquility Queen told me they bury valuables underneath themselves; let's go see just how many things there are," I grabbed Aqua and pulled her close before whispering, "let's go see how many people they've killed."

Aqua, wavering from the very real possibility of finding out just how awful the tranquility girls and their kin were, slapped my hand away and covered her ears.

"Tch, doesn't even matter…Megumin probably destroyed all of it with her explosion," I said in frustration.

"That was a lot of tranquility girls," Yunyun said. "How many levels did you go up, Megumin?"

Hearing this, I grew slightly curious as well.

Megumin, who was still lying on the ground, smirked. "Four whole levels," she said proudly.

It didn't sound like much, but Megumin was by and far the highest-level member of our motley crew sitting at a respectable forty before this massacre. For her to have gained four extra levels with this one encounter was staggering. It was the one time I wish I could cast Explosion…or at least something like it.

"Maybe you should start putting points into your mana?" Yunyun suggested.

Megumin, however, put all her points into more power. "Hah," she said pompously, still lying in the dirt. "More power, more, and more, and more; I will always choose more power if I can, Yunyun. I don't need to cast Explosion more than once if I can end everything in one go."

A sound argument, but one that didn't stand up to the obvious scrutiny of anyone who had any marginal amounts of battle experience…or intelligence. As we stood around, my Enemy Detect went off again; this time there were multiple signals all around us and closing in fast.

"Guys," I said quickly, "enemies from all sides, and coming in fast."

All of us quickly looked around for any signs of the encroaching enemies. As our sight darted around, I finally caught a glimpse of what my skill picked up. Sprites…Forest Sprites.

"Sprites?" I said in confusion.

There were lots of them; Sprites were weak creatures that inhabited places full of mana. Individually they were incredibly easy to defeat, but together they could bring about natural disasters; the manifestation of winter, The Winter Shogun, was the first thing that came to my mind.

"Forest Sprites," Yunyun said with a hint of nervousness.

"Oi, do these things spawn a stupidly strong boss-type enemy when they die?" I asked nervously.

The ground began to shake as if it were answering my question. The sprites circled around us quickly as the tremors grew stronger.

"Hey!" I said with my voice full of anxiety. "Do these things spawn a strong enemy?!"

The trees before us cracked and split revealing a massive tree-like entity. As I stared at the enormous creature, I felt my heart sink; what did I do to deserve this?

"A guardian tree spirit, a Greater Treant," Darkness said in awe.

"Oi, why'd that thing spawn?! We didn't even kill—"

Then it hit me; an entire field was annihilated just moments earlier by Megumin's Explosion. Who knows what other creatures could've been there? But we would've seen them in the kill list, right? No, the kill list only showed up to the last ten monsters killed; any more than that, and one would have to begin scrolling to see more. It was beginning to dawn on me that Megumin likely massacred a ton of Forest Sprites as well.

I quickly threw Megumin over my shoulder and ran as fast as I could; as much as I wanted to leave her behind for causing this entire situation, I couldn't live with myself if she was ground to a crimson paste.

"Run!" I yelled, already far from the group.

Darkness stood in awe and mounting arousal; her nostrils flared wildly as the Treant raised its gargantuan foot over her. She shook violently in anticipation, drool slowly rolling down the side of her mouth as foot began to come down; the size of the shadow completely eclipsed Darkness.

"Oof!" she grunted as Yunyun saved her from certain death.

Yunyun dragged Darkness as fast as she could, Aqua beside her.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled as Darkness smashed into bushes, rocks, roots, trees, and other forestry.

Darkness, of course, didn't mind this at all, taking great pleasure in every hit. Several meters ahead of the others, I activated Lurk for me and Megumin as we hid in a small alcove. The others—and more importantly—the Treant went past us none the wiser. Making sure the threat was gone, I turned my attention to Megumin.

"You idiot, this is your fault!" I said, dropping her flat on the ground.

"Oof," she groaned. She stared at me apathetically. "Wouldn't be, if **you** hadn't lied."

"Wha—you little!" I grabbed her locks and pulled them aggressively. Megumin wailed in pain as I did; she was incapacitated, so there was nothing she could do to stop me.

"Ahhhh, please, Kazuma—Ahhhh, I'm sorry!" she kicked and screamed with what little energy she had.

This punishment continued for a while, after which, I sat back to think of a way out of this situation; Megumin lay in the background moaning in pain.

"How can we beat this thing?" I said to myself.

Megumin sniffled in the background, but noted, beating a Treant takes **A LOT** of firepower; levels of cooperation comparable to the Destroyer and the Kowloon Hydra encounters. Just like the Winter Shogun is a natural manifestation of Winter, Treants are natural manifestations of Forests.

"So, we can't fight it," I said.

"Heh, you got me—"

I yanked her locks again.

"Ahh—ok, no; the best thing to do is run away. If you can leave the forest that it's protecting, the Treant is likely to stop chasing," She said with tears beading the corner of her eyes."

"So, all we have to do is run. Ugh, I'm so tired of forests."

I dug into my satchel and withdrew my bow and crafted an explosive arrow. Megumin stared at me with dead eyes as I did; obviously, I ignored her. I lit the fuse and taking aim in front of me, I arced the shot, and then released the string. The dynamite detonated with a resounding blast. I put the bow away, threw the rucksack on, and once again threw Megumin over my shoulder. Off we were again, into the woods. As I ran, I began to feel the effects of my poor stamina creep in; the burning pain spread through my legs and into my kidneys, then my shoulders, and then my back.

After running for a few more minutes, I began to feel the tremors once more and hear Yunyun apologizing profusely to Darkness, who was panting from all the abuse at this point. We linked back up and started running off towards the direction I shot the arrow. All of us were exhausted; Aqua, who had to carry the other rucksack was wheezing uncontrollably and looked as if she was going to pass out at any second.

Due to the mounting exhaustion, the Treant was quickly closing the distance on us and there was still no sign of the forest ending.

"We…have…to leave…the forest!" I yelled as I gave my all to keep running.

"Darkness…please!" Yunyun exclaimed breathlessly, however, Darkness was completely entranced by the copious amounts of ecstasy she felt. "I can't…" Yunyun said, slowing down dramatically.

My vision, which had begun to fade, solidified as I stopped. I stumbled forward and yelled back to Yunyun through each breath. "You…have…to…keep…going…" I tried to run again, but I stumbled again and fell forward onto my knees. Me, Aqua, and Yunyun lay on the ground trying to catch our breaths as the Treant crept towards us.

"Save yourselves," Megumin said, "I shall sacrifice a portion of my dark soul—"

"Shut up!" I yelled with what little breath I had. "What are you gonna do, flop around?!"

Megumin rolled onto her back and nudged her staff into my face. I slapped it away and looked back; the Treant was basically on top of us.

"Goddammit, I'm gonna die to a tree!" I yelled in exasperation.

As the Treant's foot came down just before us, the ground underneath gave way; we all fell into a crevasse below.

**Part 4**

I grunted as I rubbed my head. I sat up and looked around. The others were doing something similar, but Megumin lay a crumpled mess. I looked up and could see the Treant's massive foot pass overhead, the tremors knocked rocks and dirt down into the fissure, but thankfully, most were relatively harmless.

"Another hole," I whispered with a sigh.

"Kazuma…is that you?" I heard Megumin say in a muffled tone.

The only light source was the little bit that was visible from the top, so, naturally I could only see very little; realizing this, I activated Farsight and could see half of Megumin's body jutting out of an immense pile of dirt and rocks.

"Kazuma?" she said again; I didn't answer. "Oi—Kazuma, I know you're there! I could hear you earlier!"

"Shut up," I said lazily. I grabbed her legs and began pulling; after some effort, Megumin plopped out of the pile, spitting the excess dirt from her mouth and face.

"Ugh, where are we?" Yunyun said as she looked around.

"We fell into a ravine," I answered.

I was still incredibly tired from all the running, so, I sat down beside Megumin who was still suffering from mana exhaustion. Yunyun had already seemingly recovered.

"UWAHH!" Aqua yelled in frustration. "I'm tired of this! I wanna go home already." She fell to her knees and began sobbing on all fours.

Darkness finally sat up with a satisfied smile on her face; it contrasted with the amounts of cuts, dirt, and bruises she sported around her body and armor.

"Geez," I said, lying back on the pile of dirt, "there's always something…honestly don't know what I expected. Might as well lay low; that monster will probably grow tired of looking for us and go away. Then we can climb out of here and finally get out of these woods."

"So, is that the plan, Kazuma?" Darkness said.

"That's the plan," I replied, closing my eyes.

We could still hear the Treant walking in the distance; it's movements still causing quakes from such range. It honestly made it difficult to sleep, but the exhaustion helped in that regard. I was the first to relax (not including Megumin) but as some time passed, I could hear the others start to drift off; Aqua was last. I could tell she wasn't keen on sleeping in the dirt, but then again, we've slept in stables before.

**_-Sometime later…_**

When I awoke, the others were still fast asleep. Megumin lay just centimeters from me with her hat covering most of her face. Yunyun laid closely by Megumin's side, her arm thrown across Megumin's chest. Darkness and Aqua slept across us; Darkness was sitting up with one leg extended, her back up against the rocky wall and Aqua had laid out a bedroll and was sleeping comfortably in it. I rubbed my eyes wearily and stared up. The light that was bright and present earlier was now gone, replaced by a darkened cerulean sky; it was night.

I realized why I woke up; it wasn't that I slept enough—in all honesty, I probably did—it was because I had to go. I looked around to make sure the others were still asleep, they were. I climbed over the dirt mound behind me, and as I neared the top, I undid my belt. I went through the motions and as I pissed, I could see a pair of beastly red eyes peer from the darkness. My Enemy Detect activated as the eyes slowly grew larger; it was moving towards me.

_"Ugh…not now of all times."_

I quickly finished and refastened my pants. By now, the eyes passed into the intermittent rays of moonlight that cascaded down into the crevasse, showing the creature to be a monster I've never seen before.

"What the…" I said under my breath, slowly backing away.

As my view of it slowly dipped away behind the mound, I quickly turned around and began waking the others.

"Everyone up!" I said in a loud whisper. "There's something here!"

The others began yawning and stretching; it was obvious they didn't understand what I was saying. I frantically looked back as I heard small rocks and pebbles tumble down the mound; there, on top, stood a large feline-like creature. Since it was dark, I could barely make out its features, but the most distinguishing was its red eyes and large muscular build. Despite its size, and presumably, weight it made no sound as it moved.

I fell back as I stared at the beast slowly stalk towards us; the others still hadn't realized what was occurring.

"Oi, Kazuma, what are you waking…" Megumin began to say. She noticed the shock and terror on my face, the direction I was facing and turned to look as well; as soon as she locked eyes with the creature's, she adopted the same expressions.

For the first time, the monster made a sound; it was a low and guttural growl. This noise caught the attention of the others, instantly waking them from their weariness.

"A Hellcat," Megumin said lowly. Her expression now included awe.

I merely gave her a cursory glance as she said the name, and then quickly returned my attention to the creature which was now less than a meter away from us. My mind went into overdrive; I was trying to figure a way out of this, but with the creature so close to us any sudden movement could prompt an attack; that being said, it was more than likely to attack any second now.

Without thinking, I withdrew my sword and attacked in one motion. The Hellcat jumped back on to the top of the mound and now roared. The noise it made was so visceral and primal that it literally shook me to my core. I had no time to think, and just as little time to act; I grabbed Megumin and shoved her into Yunyun, pushing them far behind me. When I turned back around, the monster already pounced. It landed on me, instantly pinning me to the ground and crushing my arms in the process.

"CURSED LIGHTNING!" I heard Yunyun yell.

The Hellcat, once again, jumped back, landing on the top of the mound.

Yunyun stepped forward and yelled, "FREEZE GUST!"

Since the area was tight, the beast couldn't dodge such a widely affecting spell and was hit; normally an attack like this would freeze its targets solid, but the Hellcat was—at best—inconvenienced. Taking the chance, Darkness put herself between me and the monster and braced herself; activating "Decoy" in the process.

The Hellcat roared once more, shattering the ice that clung to its jet-black fur, and then darted forward; the force behind its lunge being enough to completely dishevel the earthen mound it once stood upon. The next instant, its paw connected with Darkness' pauldron; her armor almost shattered on impact, dropping her to one knee. As I lay in almost dizzying pain, I could see Darkness smirk from the repeated strikes of the beast, her armor was barely clinging to her and what little remained was being sliced apart.

Megumin rushed to my side with Aqua, who began healing me, and then Darkness.

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin said excitedly, "that's a Hellcat, isn't it cool! Such a fierce and mythical—"

I grabbed Megumin by her collar and shook her furiously. "That thing almost killed me!" I said angrily.

"Kazuma!" Aqua yelled. "Darkness is being whittled down, I can only keep healing her for so long, DO SOMETHING!"

"Tch! Always something so unreasonable; goddammit, why can't I just have some peace for once!" I turned to Yunyun. "Yunyun, give me some distance from that cat!"

Yunyun nodded. "LIGHT OF SABER!" she yelled.

The Hellcat quickly darted aside, and shot towards Yunyun, but Darkness quickly jumped in front once more. Taking the moment, I cast Lurk and grabbed the rucksack that had laid near the monster and withdrew my bow. I couldn't fight this thing at close range; the event moments earlier made this apparent. No, long range was my only choice; the bow was my only option.

"Yunyun, get ready!" I shouted as I took aim. The Hellcat paid me no mind as it wrestled to get past a bloodied Darkness. "Now!" I said.

"LIGHT OF SABER!" Yunyun yelled once more.

As the Hellcat attempted to dodge, I cried out, "SNIPE!"

My arrow plunged deep into its muscular hind leg causing it to stagger, Yunyun's advanced magic spell connected cutting a profound wound into the monster's torso. It roared as blood spilled from its chest, but it remained standing. Before I finished nocking my next arrow, the Hellcat dashed past me and back into the darkness of the ravine.

We all froze in anticipation of it returning, but after several minutes, it didn't; we quickly relaxed. I turned to Darkness who was—despite being healed—gravely injured; large lacerations and bloody sweat covered her body, her hair was a disheveled mess, and her armor and clothing—what little was left—barely clung to her. This was perhaps the most damage I've ever seen Darkness take, which was saying a lot since she took a full-power Explosion once.

"Thanks for protecting us, Darkness," I said with a bit of pity.

She smiled weakly, her breaths were labored, but she replied, "My pleasure."

"_Her choice of words…they aren't a mistake_…I'm sure it was." I said wryly. Turning my attention to the others, I said, "We need to get out of here; we don't know if that thing will come back."

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin said, "we can capture it if it comes back, right? I can just imagine how cool it'd be to make that thing my familiar. It'd be—"

I clasped my hand tightly around her mouth. "Please stop talking."

"Hellcats are extremely rare," Yunyun said. "In the village, they would tell bedtime stories about them. Honestly, I thought it was a lie, but…to think they're real."

Megumin pulled away from my hand, and holding my arm she added, "That's not even the legendary one."

I relaxed my arm. "Eh, legendary? As in, there's a stronger version of that thing?"

Both her and Yunyun nodded. Megumin clarified, "Asura, The Demon Cat is supposedly a long-time rival of Fenrir; allegedly, they fought for control of the forest many years ago with Fenrir claiming the one near the village and Asura escaping into the wilderness. No one really knows where it's at, a lot of people just outright deny its existence."

"Fenrir?" I queried. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

Megumin lowered her head slightly; I could just barely catch the slight smile and smoldering embers in her eyes. "…don't you remember?"

As I racked my brain, I recalled the memory. The night we escaped into the forest during Yunyun's trial celebrations; Fenrir was the large wolf-like beast I challenged. To think that I would be so bold to fight a creature mentioned in legends…how drunk was I? In order to make sure I didn't upset Megumin, I gave her a slight smile as well. Turning away, I could see Aqua finished healing Darkness. The physical damage on her body was gone, but anyone who saw her clothing—or what's left of it—could tell a hellish battle took place between her and some creature.

"We need to go," I repeated. "Grab the bags."

I took my bow out and launched the special grappling arrow over the top of the crevasse's opening. I tugged on it and it held firmly.

"Aqua, buff me." I said.

Aqua did so. I grabbed the rope, took a deep breath, and began to climb. Upon reaching the top, I cast Lurk and looked around with Farsight active…nothing, and Enemy Detect wasn't picking up anything nearby either. Leaning over the edge, I signaled the others up; Darkness came up first, followed by Aqua. As Yunyun grabbed the rope, my Enemy Detect activated. I quickly looked in the direction it was signaling, but could see nothing, not even with Farsight. Then I heard Megumin.

"So, you're back," She said in an almost careless tone.

I looked back down into the pit, and saw the Hellcat slowly advancing on the two girls.

_"Shit!"_ I withdrew my bow and took aim; my hands shook in stress.

I could hear Megumin spouting nonsense about making it her familiar and how amazing it would be to ride into the Crimson Village on its back…indeed, it was a cool thought but also completely irrelevant given the situation. The Hellcat charged.

"SNIPE!" I yelled. The arrow barely missed, grazing the top of its neck.

The beast stopped and shot me a momentary glare before setting its sights back on the two girls. I shot another arrow, this time landing between the creature and Megumin. It swiped maliciously at the arrow and continued stalking forward. As the distance closed, Megumin solemnly spoke to Yunyun.

"Yunyun, my rival, it's only obvious that you become the meal for this majestic beast; I am frail and thin, you, full of fat will provide more sustenance—"

"F-F-Fat?!" Yunyun yelled in both embarrassment and anger.

If things kept going the way it was, both were dead. I had to do something; I had to do something drastic. Without giving it much thought, I jumped into the ravine with my sword aimed below me; a plunging attack. Seconds later, as the Hellcat was practically upon them, I slammed blade-first into the monster's back; the force nearly knocked me out (if it wasn't for Aqua's buffs, it would've). The creature roared and thrashed about attempting to dislodge me from it.

"Yunyun, take her!" I shouted as the beast flailed about, slamming itself into walls.

Yunyun, who was standing in shock, snapped out of it and grabbed Megumin. Megumin shoved her off and stood resolute.

"I will not leave you, Kazuma!" she shouted.

"Megumin!" both me and Yunyun screamed.

"I REFUSE!" she retorted.

_"This goddamn loli!"_

I threw myself off the back of the wild beast and stumbled in front of Megumin. "Get up the damn rope!" I yelled angrily.

Again, she yelled, "I REFUSE!"

_"Why is she being so difficult at a time like this?!"_

"Kazuma!" Yunyun yelled as she pointed behind me.

The Hellcat bloodied and angry stomped its front paw with such force it cracked the ground beneath it, and then roared; this time a jet of flames shot from its mouth accompanying the reverberating growl.

"It-it can breathe fire?!" I said in disbelief.

"Yup, it can breathe fire," Megumin said proudly, as it were her prized pet.

"Yunyun, I have a plan," I said quickly.

Without needing to say more, Yunyun took her stance slightly beside me, but in front of Megumin.

"BIND!"

Megumin fell like a log; her face showed utter surprise. "Kazuma, what's the meaning of this?"

"Shut up and stay there," I retorted without looking at her. "Create Earth," I whispered, a palm-full of dust and dirt swirled in my hand. "When it charges, use Freeze Gust."

As I finished saying this, the Hellcat charged once more.

"FREEZE GUST!" Yunyun cast as instructed.

The Hellcat spit a wall of flame cleanly bisecting the icy wind around it.

"WIND BREATH!" I yelled and quickly activated Lurk.

The surprise attack stunned the Hellcat but as I closed the distance to stab it, it instinctively swiped its paw shattering my blade in the process. I managed to hold on to what was left of my sword, but felt my arm go completely numb from the attack.

_"Dammit, did it break my arm?!"_

The window of opportunity was closing fast; if we didn't do something now, we were done for. Understanding this, I gripped my blade tightly and could feel some sensation in my arm return.

"Yunyun!" I said as I darted towards the cat.

"LIGHT OF SABER!" she yelled and promptly dropped to one knee; she was practically out of mana.

The magic spell connected but not cleanly; it hit its tail causing the Hellcat rear up in pain. This was the opportunity I sought; its chest wound was wide open, its beating heart exposed.

"Die!" I shouted as I plunged the jagged remains of my sword into its heart.

The beast collapsed and fell on its side; its legs kicked for a couple of seconds, but eventually…stopped. I fell to my knees panting, and then threw my head back while taking a deep breath. I stood up and withdrew my blade from the bloodied corpse, and then turned around to face the other two.

Megumin—who apparently was unbound—stood behind me with stars in her eyes. "C-Cool." She simply said. "Kazuma…that was cool."

_"Eh, what the hell is this chuuniloli even saying?"_

As I looked around, I noticed the scene; I stood in the only place where the moonlight permeated into the ravine, by a bloodied corpse of a powerful beast, bloody sword in hand. As I grew conscious of this, I felt almost unreasonably embarrassed.

I quickly grabbed Megumin and began walking towards the rope. I could feel the tips of my ears burning. Megumin, who I started dragging away, turned to me and willfully walked alongside me, her arms wrapped around my own. Yunyun, who was suffering slightly from mana exhaustion also sat in shock, but hers was a lot tamer than Megumin's initial reaction. Luckily, since the area was dark, they couldn't make out my embarrassment.

"Up the rope," I said to both.

"Humph," Megumin said pompously. "Yunyun, you first. Kazuma, I shall reward you for your excellent demonstration of coolness; you may climb up under me."

I used to Create Water to clean off my sword (whatever was left of it) and wiped it down on my shirt. The suddenness of the words Megumin spoke, kind of threw me for a loop.

"Eh? Climb up…under you?"

Megumin, noticing the poor choice of words, quickly reiterated, "You may climb up after me."

I sighed, "Not like I'll be able to see anything down here anyways; it's too dark to make any details out…even with Farsight. Now hurry up and climb…before other monsters show up."

As they climbed up, I looked around in full alert; even though Enemy Detect wasn't picking anything up, I felt as if I couldn't fully trust it. After they reached the top, I grabbed the rope and Darkness pulled me up.

"Good job, Kazuma," Darkness said as she helped me onto the edge.

"I may have landed the killing blow, but…" my voice trailed off. "I landed the killing blow," I repeated.

I quickly pulled out my adventurer card; I could hardly make most of it out, but the glowing words '5 skill points available' stood out instantly.

"Five whole levels? I went up five levels from that one monster?" I said in awe.

Aqua spoke, "Though I don't know much about them, what I have heard is that they're rarer than dragons and, in some ways, even more deadly; it's not that surprising they'd give such a huge amount of experience."

"Anyways, Kazuma, your job class gives you a bonus to experience; it shouldn't really come as a surprise that you'd level so quickly," Darkness added.

She was right; the Adventurer job-class was arguably the easiest to level. Unfortunately, due to my dysfunctional team I rarely had a chance to deal the final blow and gain any levels. Still, the fact that I gained so much from one enemy surprised me. I thought about what skills to learn next, but quickly set aside the thought; we were still in these woods at night. The priority would be to leave this place as soon as possible.

"Ok, let's go." I said as I got up. I quickly looked for the rucksack and saw that Darkness had them both by her side; I remembered she climbed up with both earlier.

As I took one, I turned to Yunyun who was panting quite heavily; she was still suffering from mana exhaustion, and the physical exertion of climbing up probably didn't do her any favors.

"Yunyun," Megumin began, "your weak constitution is becoming a nuisance—"

"Hey, you shouldn't even be saying that," I said, interrupting in slight annoyance.

Megumin continued, ignoring me completely. "— If you can't stand then we'll just have to leave you behind; worry not, I'll bring you flowers in remembrance—"

I shook Megumin as I grabbed the front of her robes. "You should be the last one to say such things!"

Eventually, it was decided that Darkness would help Yunyun along; at first, I wanted to make Megumin carry her, but…it would be worse for Yunyun to be dragged along by the smaller Megumin.

"Sorry, Darkness-san," Yunyun apologized as she walked alongside her.

"It's ok, Yunyun," Darkness replied. "If you get too tired you can climb on my back."

"But you have the pack you're carrying."

"It's fine; if it's for friends, I will endure it."

Hearing the word 'friends' made Yunyun smile unabashedly. "O-ok," she replied.

"Don't indulge in her fantasies, Yunyun," I warned.

Yunyun looked back at me as I said it, and then turned to Darkness who wore a lewd look on her face; she tried hard to hide it but failed miserably. We walked on for hours through the night without any further incidents, and by daylight we had reached the other end of the accursed woods.

**Part 5**

**_-Morning…_**

As we left the edge of the forest, a massive expanse of open terrain lay ahead of us. We sighed collectively; there were no signs of woods as far as the eye could see. I looked around and took note of our party's condition; we were in shambles—and more notably—our attires have seen far better days.

With the exception to my bottom half, the top half of my clothing had several tears in it, its edges were heavily frayed with stitching coming apart at the seams. Megumin's clothing remained largely the same with the distinguishing feature being her torn cloak (which she had manually tied around her neck) and the wrappings she wore around her right leg being almost completely gone. Darkness…well Darkness was barely clothed; what little pieces of clothing and armor remained were essentially scraps covering some of her more…compromising areas. Yunyun's robes bore several tears but were still largely intact; its edges were also ragged and fraught with mud and dirt. The attire she wore underneath had similar wear to it. Finally, Aqua's clothing was perhaps the one in the most pristine condition at cursory glance, but closer inspection would reveal slight unraveling at the edges; I assumed she tried her best to take of her clothing.

Taking note of the condition of our clothing, I quickly smelled myself; ugh, it hadn't even been two days since we bathed, and we already needed another.

"Hey guys," I said, coming to a stop, "wanna make another bath?"

They each looked at each other, and then back at me suspiciously.

I shook my head and seriously said, "Look at us, we're a mess; I really just wanna bathe this time."

They looked at each other once again, and then hesitantly back at me.

Megumin spoke up, "How about we take a mixed bath?"

The others nodded in agreement, and then quickly realized what she said.

"Megumin!" Aqua said. "Are you insane?! There's no way we can—"

"Who said anything about you guys?"

"Eh?" the rest of us said in confusion.

"Me and Kazuma will take a bath together…just us."

The air was silent for what felt like an eternity.

"You-You know what you're proposing, right?" Yunyun said nervously.

"I told Kazuma I'd reward him for his performance in battle and as a Crimson Demon, it is my duty to see to it that coolness is awarded its due diligence," Megumin replied matter-of-factly.

"Tha-that's not even a thing!" Yunyun exclaimed worriedly.

"Shut it, you Crimson-Demon-in-name only!"

"You should take that as compliment," I interjected.

Yunyun ignored me, "I'm-I'm more a Crimson Demon tha-than you! I, I know far more advance magic than—"

"Fool, and you dare to call yourself my rival! It's obvious you have no idea what makes Crimson Demons what they are; this is why you'll always be second place. Humph, you should consider that a blessing Yunyun, your lack of awareness should make it you never graduated; perhaps my genius rubbed off on you."

"Yunyun, you should really take this as a compliment," I reiterated.

Again, I was ignored. "I-I…I won't allow it!" she yelled nervously.

"Oh…you won't allow it?" Megumin said, her eyes narrowed and flared up in response. "You dare tell me what I can and can't do?"

Yunyun looked as if she wanted to run away, but she held her ground and even got into a fighting stance. As much as I wanted to stop this, my desire to see what trick Megumin was gonna pull was even greater.

"Humph…we'll have a duel," Megumin declared. "Whoever wins, decides the other's actions, sound good?"

Yunyun gulped and nodded.

"_What a gullible girl, she didn't even know what the challenge consisted of and she already accepted."_

"Whoever can create a larger hole in the ground wins."

The advantage was so far in Megumin's favor that it would've been a joke to call this a challenge; there was absolutely no way she could lose and Yunyun knew this.

"N-N-Now that's not fair!" she yelled.

"Oh, gonna give up, are you?" Megumin teased with a smirk.

"This isn't fair, and you know it!"

"Oi, Megumin, this is even fair in the slightest," Darkness spoke up. "At least do something—"

"Shut it, Erosader," Megumin said curtly. "This is a life-or-death battle between two mages of the Crimson Demon clan, you have no right to interfere."

Yunyun began to flail worriedly as she heard Megumin raise the stakes. "L-L-Life-or-death?! I never accepted those terms!"

"So, you forfeit," Megumin said wryly.

"N-No, I don't forfeit!"

"So, we'll fight to the death then?"

Yunyun looked as if she was gonna explode, and then collapsed to her knees sobbing. "You always cheat…" She said through pained sobs.

"Humph, seems like I win by default. By right, I should execute you, but I have hope for you yet, Yunyun; I'll let you live."

Such smugness I thought as I shook my head in disbelief.

"As a result of this match, I have one action for you to perform, Yunyun," Megumin said. "You will become my sustenance after I cast Explosion."

If I didn't know Megumin, I'd say **she **was the Demon King's daughter; her level of depravity towards her best friend was borderline sadistic. Hearing this declaration, Yunyun cried even harder, holding onto the hem of Megumin's robes.

"Well, Darkness, go find some stones," I said.

"Are you really gonna through with this?" Darkness asked in surprise.

I looked at her with my own set of annoyed surprise. "Really? Any reason I shouldn't?"

"Gah—it's indecent—even for you Kazuma."

I tried to stop myself from laughing, but couldn't; in fact, I laughed so hard, I fell to my knees and held my sides. I wiped the tears from my eyes as I settled down. Darkness looked at me, her face filled mostly with annoyance.

"Oh, Darkness, sometimes you say the dumbest things," I said as I got back up.

"I'm serious, Kazuma; usually you're somewhat discrete about—"

"Oi, stop trying to ruin my fun, Darkness; Megumin proposed it, not me; I'm simply accepting this gift she so graciously offered…unlike somebody else."

"*Gasp* how dare you, how dare you, Kazuma!" Darkness shouted in disbelief. "I've tried my very best to honor Megumin's affection for you by sacrificing my own desires and you dare speak to me about such frivolities!"

"Hah, I see, it's such a trivial matter for the ojou-sama to return a favor to a mere commoner."

"I should break you in half!" Darkness said stepping forward.

I stepped back, raising my arms in defense. "Always so physical."

"EXPLOSION!" Megumin yelled in the distance.

The hole for the bath was made; it was slightly larger than the last.

I turned back to Darkness. "You should get those stones," I said, smugly walking away.

"Get them yourself!" Darkness yelled as she threw a nearby one into my back.

"Ah, damn it!" I said in pain, turning around and rubbing the spot. "Tch, guess I'll have to."

I walked over to Aqua who was sitting down and playing cards by herself. "Oi, Aqua, we need you to fill the bath with water," I said.

"Don't wanna," She retorted.

"Hey, Aqua, come on."

"Don't wanna!"

I was starting to get annoyed. "Go fill the bath or I'll cut your monthly allowance entirely."

She finally turned to look at me; her expression was one of bother. "Then I guess I'll just take back what I made for you!"

"Stop being so damn unreasonable you stupid goddess; you're the goddess of water, aren't you, go spread some water! Do your job!"

"DON'T WANNA!" she yelled throwing a tantrum in the process.

"Hey, what the hell, aren't you an adult?! Stop it!"

Aqua continued, increasing her intensity.

"Oh God, what have I done to deserve such unreasonable companions? Aqua, if you do this for me, once we get back to Axel, I'll double your allowance for the next three months and buy you all the best booze you can drink for the next week."

Aqua instantly stood up as if nothing happened and stoically prepared the bath. After some time, the hole was filled with both, the collected stones and water. As per agreement, I used Drain Touch on Yunyun and transferred just enough into Megumin; honestly, I felt kind of bad about it, but then again there were bigger concerns. With the remaining bits of mana, Yunyun and I heated the water to boiling. The others took their bath first while me and Megumin sat back at camp waiting.

"You really wanna go through with this?" I asked her.

She sat stoically across from me. "Did you believe I was gonna back down, Kazuma?"

Every time I was confronted with a situation like this between me and Megumin, I grew nervous; Megumin, however, always seemed to keep her cool. It was kind of odd since initially she was every bit as nervous as I was—no, one could say, even more so, but as time went on, I felt she had the upper hand.

"It's-it's just a bath," I said while looking away.

"Mhm, just a bath…with just us alone," She reiterated.

I cleared my throat. "The others will still be nearby—and it's not like this is the first time we've ever bathed together."

Megumin said nothing, just smirked; it sent a shiver up my spine. I could feel my heart pounding as time went on; the others must almost be done, and soon, me and Megumin would enter the bath together. I knew I had to be glowing red; I could feel my whole body grow hot in both, anticipation and anxiety. Soon enough, the others returned; as they passed by us, Aqua and Darkness gave a cursory glance while Yunyun looked at me and Megumin nervously.

When they were finally far enough away, Megumin stood up and smiled. "Come, Kazuma," she said, "your reward awaits."

I steeled myself and stood up; both us walked to the bath with towels in hand. Though it was some distance away from the camp, the walk itself was fairly short, a few minutes away at most but it felt so much longer. Megumin drew close to me and grabbed the hem of my shirt. Argh, I could feel my heart thumping harder; why was I growing so nervous by such ingenuous actions? Almost as if she could sense my nervousness, Megumin looked up at me and smiled; Yuiyui's smile, but just barely more innocent.

Attempting to rein myself in and regain the upper hand, I asked, "Hey, Megumin, you won't get mad if I end up doing stuff to you, right?"

I looked at her as I asked, trying to see some signs of tenseness, but could find none. She lowered her head slightly, and then raised it at me, her eyes glowing brightly. "What did you think the reward was?" She answered resolutely and wrapped her arms around my own.

_"This girl…she had to be playing me."_

Inspired and annoyed by her confidence, I replied, "You better not back down then."

"Have I ever?" She retorted smugly.

Indeed, she never has; whenever, she had intentions to do something, Megumin would follow through. No, it was always me who had backed off at such pivotal points; either stopping outright or postponing it to some other time. How could this girl, who was younger and arguably less experienced than I was, be so sure of herself—of her actions? How could Megumin be so decisive about such things? It was a question that poked at my pride as a man.

Finally, we arrived at the bath. Standing at its edge, I peered at it. The water was crystal clear despite the steam; one could see clearly all the way to the bottom; this meant **everything** would be seen. I breathed deeply in an attempt to calm myself. I could feel Megumin press her back softly onto my own, and then hear the noise of clothes hitting the floor. Ah, Megumin was naked behind me; as easy as it would've been to turn around, I didn't.

She began to slowly remove my clothing. First, she unlatched my cloak, it fluttered to the ground beside us. Next, was my shirt, as I raised my arms, I could feel her soft fingers slide alongside my torso; she couldn't reach the top, so I finished it for her; it dropped to the ground besides my cloak. I could no longer hide the fact that I was nervous, my chest heaved slightly quicker than normal despite my attempts to calm myself. How easy it would be to get carried away; was Megumin banking on this very notion?

As I thought deeply about her motives, she wrapped her arms around my stomach and hugged me; I could feel her chest press into my back, but also two rather solid points beneath my shoulder blades; I gulped as I came to realization of what they were. Part of me wanted to dive into the bath with my pants on, but the prevailing half wanted to see this through, partly because I enjoyed it and partly because if I didn't, I could never forgive myself as man.

Seconds later, Megumin slid her hands down to my belt and as she slowly undid it, she stopped. I could feel her heartbeat rapidly increase; she **was** nervous. This fact calmed me down a bit and allowed me to take some of the initiative. I grabbed her hands and helped her undo my belt. It fell with a solid thud to the ground below me. Though my belt held my pants in place, they weren't completely necessary; Aqua did a fine job on making the waist band slightly elastic so they would grip my waist with or without one.

Megumin quickly slipped her fingers into the side of my pants and then immediately stopped. I was frozen in shock at the immediacy of such a move. She slowly pulled at the waist and began to drag them downwards. There was slight resistance, but as it moved below my thighs the pants dropped effortlessly.

My heart pounded quickly once more as Megumin stepped in front of me. She still wore her silk black panties, but otherwise was completely naked. She covered her breasts teasingly and stared at me with inviting eyes; eyes that were glowing as bright as on the night of our first kiss. She slowly looked down at my underwear and grinned.

"Megumin," I said almost choking on my words, "wha, how can you be so—"

She placed a finger on my lips. I could feel it trembling. I quickly grabbed her arm, and said, "You don't have to—"

"I know…but I want to."

Such a definitive response made my heart burn and my bottom half stiffen.

"If you must know," Megumin said, kneeling in front of me, "only you make me feel this way, Kazuma…I can only act like this…with you…understand? I'm not forcing myself to do this," she clarified, placing her hands on the top of my underwear. "I **want** to do this."

I could see her breathing become pronounced as she pulled down.

"Megumin," Yunyun yelled from some distance away, "I hope you aren't doing anything—"

"I am!" Megumin retorted. "Me and Kazuma are engaging in adult inter—"

I covered her mouth. "N-No we're not; we're just having a wholesome—"

Megumin managed to free herself and shouted, "I'm doing the duties of what's demanded of me as his girlfriend!"

"Hey—what?_ Girlfriend…did she say…"_

I could hear Yunyun gasp in the background. Megumin continued.

"Please go away and leave us in peace; I owe this to Kazuma at least!" She said without shame.

"Are you actually stupid!" I said, taken completely by surprise by the words coming out of her mouth.

She turned back to me with a slightly frustrated look. "How many times are you going to let '**circumstances'** get in the way?!"

I was shocked by how honest and true she was being; my mind was in absolute chaos as I tried to figure how to piece together the assortment of events that just transpired. Megumin grabbed my face and pulled it closely to hers.

"Do you want to do this, Kazuma? If you do, then do it, and if you're scared, then-then let **me**!"

"I-I…I don't know," I finally said. "I, I mean…I do, but…"

Megumin hugged me tightly pressing my face to her bare chest; as she began to pet my head, I could feel her trembling, I could her heart thumping loudly, she whispered into my ear, "I'm afraid too, but…Kazuma…what happens if I lose you…what'll become of these feelings?"

I didn't know what to say, I was overwhelmed by such words; I could feel my feelings for her engulf me. I slumped hopelessly in Megumin's arms. This girl…I knew now without a doubt, would give her all for me…that she would give everything and anything for me. Faced with her own fears and my own, I now knew, she would shoulder both…for me; It was clear now.

I hugged her in return, and then lifting her, carried her into the bath.

"Ahem," I coughed, "M-Megumin, your chest is showing."

She looked down, and then curling into my chest, said with a meek smile, "Y-You're my boyfriend, what does it matter?" As I placed her into the water, she stretched out her legs and removed her panties; they drifted idly away.

_"Boyfriend?"_

Megumin quickly dipped underwater to remove my underwear, but I stopped her.

"I-I'll do it…" I said, quickly grabbing the nearby towel; I wrapped it around myself and slipped my underwear off.

Megumin frowned but after a quick sigh, she smiled and rested her head against my shoulder. I laid back against the edge of the bath.

"Hmm, are you sure you don't wanna do anything?" she teased. "I'm pretty sure the mighty sword Excalibur—"

"Yes, I'm sure, and stop calling it that," I said with my eyes closed.

As much as I kept telling Megumin that I didn't want to do anything, it was an obvious lie; we were both naked and the most telling part of my body betrayed my conscience.

"Hey," Darkness said from fairly close, "are you guys…ok?"

"Ah, oh yeah, we just got in," I said with my back to her voice.

Megumin turned around in the water to face Darkness. "Don't worry, nothing's happened…yet."

Darkness remained silent, and then spoke with a hint of embarrassment. "Is it true, you guys were engaging in—"

"Darkness, she already said we didn't do anything; she just said that stuff to Yunyun cause you know Megumin is such a tsundere to her."

"Am not," Megumin retorted.

"Totally are," I replied.

Darkness cleared her throat. "W-well, enjoy your bath…just not too much."

After she said that, Darkness walked off. Megumin turned back around and lifted one of her legs out of the water; I hadn't really given it much notice, but Megumin had beautiful skin. It was tinted slightly red due to the heat, but the paleness of her skin gave it a very soft look.

"Hey, Kazuma," she said as she lifted the other leg in exchange, "I still have yet to reward you, you know; I was serious about that."

"Eh, don't worry about it; you can call the strip tease a reward," I replied nonchalantly.

Megumin gave a slightly disappointed sigh.

I opened one eye and peered at her. "What'd you have in mind…besides…you know."

Megumin turned to me and smiled, "How about that 'assist' I promised."

"Assist?" I searched my memories about an assist for a couple of seconds before remembering. "Ahem, I, I don't think it's necessary…" I said, my voice lowering with each word.

"Ehhh, really? You're probably just gonna handle it yourself later though."

She wasn't wrong.

As the atmosphere grew tame, Megumin stood up and placed herself in front of me; I could see all her body slick with moisture. I could feel myself quickly grow aroused. She leaned forward, placing her hands behind my shoulders, and her mouth by my ear.

"Do you remember," she said, "how I said every Crimson Demon bears a tattoo somewhere on their body? Where do you think mine is?"

She leaned back slowly, standing upright, in front of me. Of course, I sort of knew where it was, having caught a glimpse of it seemingly so long ago; nonetheless, I played along.

"Megumin, what are you playing at?" I asked, holding back my sexual tension.

"Just something to pass the time…could lead to your reward."

My eyes—which I tried hard to keep trained on Megumin's face—slowly gazed over her entire body; though small and underdeveloped, her body was somehow arousing. I couldn't figure out why, but I reacted strongly to it, to her.

"Did you find it?" She asked with a hint of seduction.

I gulped and closed my eyes, I shook my head, saying, "No."

I could hear her turn around in the water and then stop. I opened one eye. Such a slender back, my eyes continued downward.

"Did you find it?" She asked again.

There, on her butt was the tattoo…well, barcode.

"Yeah," I said as I stared at both the barcode and the body part it was placed on.

"Touch it," she said.

"Eh—what?" I said in surprise. "What did you say?"

"Touch it," she repeated. "I wanna know you aren't lying."

"Hey, you know where your tattoo is, so you know I'm not lying about finding—"

"Please," She said softly.

I quickly reached out and stopped before her skin. I steeled myself, and then touched it; it was soft, but the barcode had a different texture to it, sort of like an oily or glossy feel. Megumin flinched slightly at my touch; her brave front made me forget she was just a girl at heart. As I slowly pulled my hand away, I could see the contour of what lie close to her bottom, of how close my hand was to it, of how assuming a position Megumin had taken. I may have said I didn't want to do anything, but I figured Megumin thought differently.

"Megumin," I said, climbing out of the bath, "we should get out; it's been a while since we've been here."

She gave me a disappointed look, and then a slight nod.

"Tch, damn you," I cursed, turning back to her.

In the end, I couldn't resist her charm; I took her in my arms and kissed her deeply. With each second that passed I could feel our inhibitions melting away at breakneck speeds; it wouldn't take much for this grow out of hand. As I pulled away, Megumin pressed forward. She attempted to climb on to me, but I quickly grabbed her. Her eyes were glazed over aflame in crimson and her chest heaved strongly, I could feel her heavy pants on my lips. She wanted this more than me?

"Megumin," I said, hastily panting. "I can't…n-not like this…"

Megumin lowered her head; she nodded slowly. Tears brimmed as she let her head rest on my chest.


	4. Chapter 3: The Dark Knight and Sick Mage

**Chapter 3: The Dark Knight and the Sick Mage **

**Part 1**

"I don't know," I said as I looked over Megumin. She lay in one of the bedrolls panting heavily.

"What do you mean you don't know!" Aqua yelled angrily. "You probably did something to her, Kazuma!"

"What the hell would I do to her?!" I snapped back. "Nothing happened, we just took a bath, that's all!"

"So why is she suddenly sick?" Darkness asked sternly.

"I said I don't know. All I know is she was basically passed out after we got out of the bath; probably stayed in too long or something."

"I can't heal her like this," Aqua informed. "Healing magic doesn't work on things like old age or natural sickness."

Yunyun, who said nothing, just sat by Megumin with a worried expression; she tended to her, changing out cold towels for her head.

"I knew this was a bad idea and I still let you go through with it," Aqua said as serious as ever.

"How the hell is this my fault?"

"If you would've just allowed us to—"

"It's my fault," Megumin said, through her labored breathing. She smiled at me weakly. "I made…all the decisions; It's my fault."

"Shut up, Megumin!" Aqua said angrily. "It's too late to speak up for Kazuma! Just tell us what he did to you!"

"What the hell, am I on trial?!" I said in disbelief.

Megumin kept her weak smile. "He didn't do anything…"

The way she said it, I knew she meant it in more ways than one.

"We should head back to the village," Yunyun said, her voice deprived of its usual innocence. "We can get her the medicine she needs there."

"I refuse," Megumin said, clutching at Yunyun's robes. "We have a mission to complete…"

"Damn the mission!" Yunyun yelled, surprising all of us, including Megumin. "If you think some mission is more important than my fr—" Yunyun began tearing up. "If you think some mission is more important than my rival…you're wrong." As she finished, she burst out in tears and hugged Megumin.

I sighed deeply. "Yunyun's right, we should head back and let Megumin rest."

The others gave no resistance to the decision; However, Megumin protested strongly.

"I'm **not** going back, if you guys do this, I'll never forgive you!"

"Shut up, Megumin, we're going back and that's final," I said. I felt partly responsible for what was happening to her despite it likely not being the case. "Prep for the teleport, Yunyun. I'll pack up everything else."

As I went to get up, Megumin grabbed onto my shirt. "Please don't," She said wearily.

"Let go, you're gonna tear my shirt," I said with a sigh. "Your health comes first, Megumin; we'll head back to the village and see if we can approach this from another angle. We can take the long way around next time."

"Please, Kazuma, don't do this; we came so far."

I grabbed her hand and pried it from my shirt. Yunyun grabbed her arm and forced it down. Megumin struggled to break free as I got up and left.

"Kazuma, please…you don't give up…please." I could hear her say as I walked away.

Darkness joined me in packing things, but we didn't so much as glance at each other. After all the packing was done, we headed back towards Yunyun.

"Everything ready?" I said.

"Mhm," Yunyun confirmed.

"No," Megumin said climbing out of the bedroll. Using her staff for balance, she stood up and began to walk away.

I grabbed her, and then swept her off her feet, and into my chest. "If you keep misbehaving, I'm gonna bind you, got it?"

Megumin punched my chest weakly, "I don't want to be the reason we fail," She said, tears welling up.

I sighed deeply. "It's not gonna be your fault; you got sick, it could've been any one of us, ok? Stop crying."

I could feel my heart burn; I was beginning to become more susceptible to Megumin's feelings…how troublesome.

"Teleport us, Yunyun," I ordered.

Yunyun nodded and closed her eyes to concentrate. Suddenly she opened them, and a look of terror filled her face. At the same instance, my Enemy Detect activated; a single enemy, about a hundred meters out.

"Shit," I cursed. "Bad timing. I take it you can't use Teleport?"

Yunyun nodded nervously.

"Only one person we know who fits the description."

Since we were out on the plains, we could see far out; a lone figure walked slowly towards us. I sighed again, and then looked down at Megumin who was cradled in my arms, she stared back at me tensely. I turned back towards the others. I walked over and handed Megumin over to Darkness.

"Take care of her," I said as I began walking towards the approaching figure. "I'm gonna go see if me and this General can't come to some sort of agreement."

Darkness started to step forward to come after me but stared at Megumin and then quickly stepped back. "Kazuma, that's likely the Demon King's own daughter; she's unlikely to parley with you."

"Yeah, I know," I said as I waved goodbye without looking.

As I walked towards the figure, I could hear Megumin yelling out to me in pain; I grit my teeth and tried my very best to ignore her. What was I doing? When did I become so stupid, like the quintessential hero in the many RPGs and stories I've played and read? The best course of action was to run as fast as we could, perhaps we would've been able to get enough distance to regain use of magic; it was a gamble, but then again…gambles were my strong suit. No, instead, I was walking towards an enemy that was likely to kill me without remorse, and then probably do the same to the others. Was I simply playing "the part", "the role" of the isekai'd hero? Never, that was foolish; I would never become that type of hero…and yet…here I stood, face to face with this…loli?

"Oh, nice to meet you," the small girl said sarcastically. "You must be the bastards who caused me so much trouble in the woods."

The girl was even smaller than Megumin in stature. She had fire-red hair that was raised in a long ponytail with a matching set of fire-red eyes. She wore little heavy armor, instead opting to cover vital points with as little plate as possible and the rest with a mixture of cloth and leather. The outstanding part of her gear was the absolutely oversized axe she effortlessly carried over her shoulder; it was at least twice her size and looked as if it could bisect a dragon in one blow.

"Uh, so, who might you be?" I asked, surprisingly calmly.

She looked as if she took offense to my question, and then began to cackle maniacally. Her little girl face twisted into one of a sadistic killer.

"You must be really new or really stupid to ask me that; so, which is it?" she said pointing her axe at me. The speed and effort at which she did it, nearly froze me in shock.

"Both…I guess," I said with my hands in front of me.

"Oh, how long ago did you come here?"

"Eh, huh?"

She shook the end of her axe in encouragement. "How long?" she said in a menacingly low tone.

"…like a year or so."

She smiled sadistically. "So, you're one of them, huh?"

I gulped. "One of who?"

Her smile disappeared and her eyes narrowed in threat; honestly, I didn't know which was better.

"Don't play dumb with me, you have a relic, don't you?"

_"Wait, could she know about…"_

"A relic? Yes, I have one." I lied.

"You do, huh? I'm feeling mighty generous today; give it to me, and I'll let you live…I'll let all of you live. Sounds like a good deal, no?" She pointed the axe past me and to the others. "Those are your companions, are they not? Give me the relic, and I'll spare you…and them."

_"Shit, I don't even have one."_

"Ok, but I'll do you one better; let me show you the power of the relic."

In an instant her axe came down beside me and cracked the earth for several meters in both directions. "Do you think me stupid? You want me to let you use the relic?" She pried the axe easily from the crust and raised its edge to my neck; there was no shaking or struggling as she did, her arm moved smoothly and without trouble. This little girl, the Demon King's daughter, was insanely strong. "**Give** me the relic or I'll take it off your corpse," She said stoically.

"Ok, ok," I said nervously.

I reached into my satchel and pulled out the trinket Megumin made; it hurt to give it away, but I had nothing else that could serve the purpose. As I reached out to give it away, I hesitated. The little girl snatched it from my hand and stared at it while she held the axe at my neck.

"Did you know," she said while staring at the trinket, "that some relics can only be used by their original owners?"

I gulped in response.

"Is this…one of those relics?" She questioned uncharacteristically serenely.

"It's not," I answered without hesitation.

"What's its name?"

"Uh, what?"

She moved the blade of the axe closer.

"Amulet of the Demon Genius."

She raised a brow, and then looked back at the trinket, and then back at me; she appeared unconvinced. She lowered her axe, and then tucked the amulet in her armor.

"My name is Arateia, Daughter of the Demon King, Top General of the Demon King's Army; you'd do well to remember it. And your name?"

"Satou Kazuma."

Arateia froze at the mention of my name, her eyes were filled with murderous intent, but she quickly relaxed.

"Satou, huh? I'll surely be seeing you again." She said, turning around. Arateia stuck out her hand in front of her and said, "Void Warp."

A dark portal opened, and she stepped through; the portal closed as she did. I collapsed to my knees and gasped for air. I could hear the hurried footsteps of the others behind me; Darkness reached me first. She still held Megumin in her arms, but Megumin was passed out; it seems she was overcome by her fever.

"What happened, Kazuma?" Darkness quickly asked.

"It was her, the Demon King's daughter; I'll tell you right now, we stand no chance against her. If we fight her, we'll die, it's that simple."

"How could you—"

"She knows about Divine Relics."

Darkness was visibly confused, but Aqua responded to the news.

"How?" Aqua asked.

"I don't know, but she knows a lot; and she seems pretty smart too. We need to leave now, before she comes back. Yunyun prep for Teleport, now."

"Wait, Kazuma," Darkness said, "what's going on? Did you make a deal with her?"

"Of course I did. Yunyun."

"Almost ready," Yunyun replied slightly nervous.

"What deal, what did you do?" Darkness pressed me for more information. "How does she know about the relics?"

"I don't know, Darkness, she just does, I don't know. Yunyun!"

"I'm ready," she replied.

"Get us out of here."

The next instant we appeared back at the Crimson Demon's Village near Yunyun's home. We quickly traveled past the Crimson Demons who were frantically putting on their robes and headed to Megumin's house. I quickly knocked on the door and paced as we waited for it to open. A few seconds later, Komekko opened the door. She smiled initially, but her smile turned to confusion as she saw Megumin cradled in Darkness' arms.

"Komekko, can we come in, your sister is sick," Darkness explained.

"Huh, ok," she replied, stepping aside.

We all quickly entered, and Komekko closed the door behind us. "What's wrong with nee-chan?" she asked with a worried expression.

"We think she's just running a fever," Darkness answered as she placed Megumin down on the couch.

Just then, Megumin opened her eyes wearily, and then quickly sat up. "Kazuma!" she yelled.

I rushed to her side, and gently pushed her back down saying, "Relax, I'm here; I'm ok."

Recognizing that I was fine, she allowed herself to fall back down on the couch. Soon after, she began breathing hard; I placed my hand on her head and could feel it burning.

"She's burning up again," I said.

Yunyun quickly went into the kitchen to grab a moist towel.

"Onee-chan," Komekko said, standing by her sister. "Are you okay, do you need food? Komekko can get you food if you want."

Megumin smiled weakly at her little sister. "I'm okay, Komekko…have you been good?"

Komekko nodded fervently, tears dotting the corner of her eyes.

"Good," Megumin said as she closed her eyes.

Yunyun came back with a bowl filled of cool water, and some towels; she went to work nursing her friend. As it approached evening, Megumin's parents returned. By then, we moved her to her room where Darkness and Aqua continued to look after her; Komekko stayed by her sister's side and Yunyun left to give the report of the recon mission to her father. I stayed in living room where Yuiyui, Megumin's mother, calmly sipped tea.

"It's good," She said to Hyoizaburo.

Megumin's father stepped out of the kitchen and took a seat next to his wife. His face was stern as he stared me down in silence. I coughed a little as I averted his gaze.

"What happened to my daughter?" He said, his tone matching the seriousness of his expression.

I turned to face him, and answered with equal seriousness, "I'm sorry…I don't know."

Yuiyui placed her cup softly on the table. "May I speak to Kazuma-san alone, my love?" Her eyes were locked to my own as she said this.

Hyoizaburo looked at Yuiyui with mild surprise, but then cleared his throat, "Of-Of course," He said; he got up and left.

Megumin often recounted to me the terror that her mother could be; her father was usually a victim of such terrors, although, who could really blame her if her husband—who was often said to be extremely talented—made useless potions all in the name of his chuunibyou delusions.

There was an unnerving silence for a couple of minutes as Yuiyui calmly continued to sip her tea. She finished her first cup, and then poured another; the silence persisted. She poured out another cup and slid it gently towards the center of the table.

"Please," She said, offering the cup to me; her hallmark smile pervading her face the entire time.

I felt uneasy as I slid the cup in front of me; I looked down into the dark liquid, and then at Yuiyui. Her hand was still extended; she wanted me to drink. I gulped and raised the cup slowly to my lips, there was a sweet aroma to it; I pressed it to my lips and drank, it was sweet.

I cleared my throat, and then placed the cup down. "It's good," I said.

Finally, Yuiyui retracted her hand and continued sipping her own tea. "Kazuma-san," she began, "I don't believe you would harm my daughter—"

"I-I didn't, I promise!" I exclaimed with slight nervousness.

Yuiyui raised her hand to silence me; her candid expression didn't change. "I believe," she continued, "that Megumin is suffering from an ailment known as 'Product Tampering'."

I was instantly confused, "Pr, Product Tampering?"

Yuiyui gave a slight nod. "If I may ask, how far have you two gotten?"

I looked at her in shock. "We haven't…" I struggled to say the words, but they came out, albeit, very lowly. "had…sex."

I was extremely embarrassed to utter those words to Megumin's mother of all people. Yuiyui said nothing, in fact, she froze completely. After a couple of seconds, she smiled again, and took another sip of tea. "I see," she said. "You haven't had sex…which goes to mean, you've done other things, things like…perhaps…foreplay?"

I shifted in my seat; what a widely uncomfortable conversation to have. Although Crimson Demons were a bit wacky, they were every bit as intelligent. I remained silent, Yuiyui continued.

"Did she show you her tattoo?"

I lowered my head in increasing embarrassment.

"She did then," Yuiyui took another sip of tea. "Did you touch it?"

I gulped deeply and nodded in silence.

"I see." Yuiyui placed her cup down and took out an old-looking box; she placed it on the table. Removing the lid, there was a small booklet in the center. She removed the booklet gently and placed it on the table before me. "This is the Book of the Crimson Demons; in it, lies all the information of our people."

I took the booklet in my hand, and instantly shook in surprise.

_"Oi! This is definitely a manual; this is like—no, this IS an instruction manual!"_

My nervousness instantly left. Yuiyui continued to explain.

"This book is passed down from village chief to village chief—"

"So why do you have it?"

I was ignored. "If you turn to the chapter of 'Security and Safety Precautions'—"

I placed the booklet down. "Yuiyui-san, what's wrong with Megumin?"

As if there was any tension left in this conversation, Yuiyui continued to sip her tea slowly. "You broke her seal," She said matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me?"

"The tattoos are seals; they're meant to protect Crimson Demons from the hands of outside forces. In times past, there were others who vied for the power of the Crimson—"

"Ok, but what is **actually** wrong with her?" I said in slight annoyance. "Is she gonna be fine?"

"Kazuma-san, she'll die if the seal isn't repaired; this is a completely serious matter." She said this seriously…she said this seriously.

"Ok, do you mean, she'll feel exhausted, or extremely hungry…or—"

Yuiyui placed the teacup down firmly, she was frowning as she did. "You seem to be under the impression that I'm lying Kazuma-san; if you don't believe me, consult the man—the Book of the Crimson Demons. Chapter 9: Security and Safety—"

"Ok, ok, I got it, I got it," I said, flipping to the aforementioned chapter.

_"…In the event of product tampering, the product will, for the safety and security of all involved will undergo thermonuclear combustion—WAIT, HOW THE HELL IS THIS EVEN REMOTELY SAFE AND SECURE?! …only security and/or administrative personnel may deactivate security precautions and reinstate safety measures…If security/administrative personnel aren't available, another product may take over administrative properties and grant said security capabilities and responsibilities to others. As such, products are exempt from tampering protocols as that would be incredibly unsafe…"_

I shot up and threw the booklet on the floor. "THE WHOLE THING IS UNSAFE DAMMIT!" I yelled in anger.

Yuiyui looked slightly surprised at my reaction, but poured another cup of tea, and drank. "I can repair the seal and grant you the associated rights of the Crimson Demons," She said with a smile once again gracing her face.

As I relaxed, I sat back down. "So, she'll be ok after this, right?"

Yuiyui nodded. "My daughter will live, and you'll be free to touch her all you want."

"Oi, please don't make this weirder than it already is."

**Part 2**

"Arue, I'm surprised you came," I said weakly, my head still throbbed, and body still burned.

Arue, who remained standing pulled out a small box. "A small gift from Funifura and Dodonko," she said almost carelessly, she tossed the box on my chest with the same demeanor. "They felt bad for not being able to come so they had me deliver it to you instead."

I wanted to open the box, but I felt too frail to do so. Arue, sat down beside me.

"So," she said. "what's the deal this time? Did that garbage man of yours mistreat you?"

I smiled, and then shook my head.

"Oh, that so? Tch, how unfortunate, would've made a good story; the number one genius of the Crimson Demons goes off with the man of her dreams only to be betrayed by him and subsequently killed."

"Sounds terrible, Arue; you sure you aren't losing your edge?" I joked.

She smiled, "You're right, sounds terrible; then again, it would be a book based off your own experiences, it'd be no wonder if it was terrible…how's the seal working?" She said, pointing to my eyepatch.

"…it's barely containing my power…I think its failing."

"Impossible, that seal was meant to hold **my** power, there's no way it would fail on a weak Megumin," she declared proudly. "Unless…could it be…are you finally awakening?"

"If I am, awakening is painful."

"Pfft," Arue shot up with her hands stuck proudly to her sides. "An awakening that's not painful is no awakening at all; it must be a test of strength, a test to show worthiness of receiving the true strength of oneself! You maybe the genius of this village, but you'll always play second fiddle to the true number one Crimson Demon."

I tried to laugh but couldn't; the pain of attempting was too great.

Arue crouched down beside me. "Oi, Megumin, you really look like a mess though; you're absolutely drenched in sweat." She placed the back of her hand to my head and instantly recoiled in pain. "Damn it, you're burning! It's almost like you're on fire."

I chuckled feebly, "…I told you…my true strength…cannot be contained."

"Hmm, seems so; worry not, if you die, I will write an adequate tale about you."

"Ah, if it's you, Arue, I have no worries that it'll be a good tale."

She smiled honestly and with softened eyes said, "Don't die though; I still need more material before I can write that book."

I nodded with a smile of my own and closed my eyes.

**_-Meanwhile…_**

"Ok, so I have to infuse mana into the tattoo?" I said in a bit of bewilderment.

Yuiyui shook her head. "Me and you will infuse our mana together, using that new set I can repair the seal and make it recognize you as another Crimson Demon," she explained.

"Ah, ok, I think I got it."

"Fufufu, Kazuma-san…were you hoping to touch the tattoo once more?" Yuiyui said, covering her mouth timidly.

"Eh—uh…not really…so…how does this mana infusion thing work?"

Yuiyui's expression quickly changed to a more serious one. She procured a small cloth from the same box the booklet was in. "This," she said, holding the cloth up. "This is a special cloth that's used to gauge one's mana; by infusing it with your own, one is able to read how much mana is present in the body as well as gauging the ability of control they exert on it."

"But how does that help me?"

"If I'm frank, Kazuma-san, I doubt you have much in the way of mana reserves so the likelihood of this back-firing and causing us to die is fairly low…"

_"D-Did she just say die?!"_

"But, by infusing your mana into the cloth, I'll be able to draw it out and simply mix in my own."

"You could've totally said that without having to add the dying part."

Yuiyui smiled once again, "I simply didn't want to alarm you."

"…"

"Kazuma-san, all you have to do is focus on the cloth; try not to think of any elements or spells while you do it. Simply think of moving—"

"Done," I said, handing her back the cloth; its color was an almost translucent blue.

"Oh my," Yuiyui said somewhat astonished, "it's worse than I thought."

"Wha-wha-wha-what's wrong with it?!"

Yuiyui lowered her head and covered her mouth; her gentle smile was spreading across her face. She turned away from me and I could hear her stifling laughter.

"Oi, what's wrong!" I said, starting to get annoyed.

Yuiyui turned to face me as she wiped away the tears in her eyes. "This…this…this color has never been seen in anyone of the Crimson Demons, but I suppose…I suppose for those outside it…**might** be a more common occurrence."

"So, what does that mean?"

Yuiyui cleared her throat, and after failing to hold back laughter started tearing up again. She held out her hand as to signal me to stop, but this just annoyed me further.

"Hey, can you be a bit serious here?!" I shouted at the edge of my patience.

Yuiyui calmed down again and wiped the tears from face. "It's terrible, Kazuma-san, your mana quality is absurdly bad. Not only is it bad, it barely has **any **affinity to the elements; this can be a somewhat redeeming quality, but for the most part it just means you aren't very good at anything."

"…tch, not like it's **that** funny."

Yuiyui struggled to keep a calm composure, and her smiling face twitched from time to time. She grabbed the teacup and poured fresh tea into it, sipping it slowly, and regained her composure. After a few minutes of this, she looked up at me and sighed.

"What a shame," she said. "Just means my grandchildren will have somewhat average mana reserves."

"Oi, don't just assume things," I replied frowning.

"You're right Kazuma-san, there's still hope that the recessive gene could make it a possibility—"

"I meant the kid part!"

Yuiyui froze instantly and her face turned into one of murderous intent; her eyes flared up in response. "You don't mean to toy with Megumin and then toss her aside when you're done with her, do you, Kazuma…san."

Instantly alarmed by the severity of the situation, I quickly corrected myself. "N-N-No, of course not."

"Good, that means I can be expecting grandchildren at some point in the future…right?!" Her voice was still cold.

I shook my head agreement.

Yuiyui smiled again. "Very well, so I'll just infuse my mana and we can be done with this."

**_-Back in Megumin's room…_**

I opened my eyes and looked to my side; Arue was gone. Even as I kept staring, my vision remained blurry.

"Megumin." I heard someone say; I couldn't properly tell, but I knew it was female. "Megumin!" the same person called out my name again, this time more forcefully; it was Darkness.

I turned my head slightly to look at her; my vision bounced in and out of focus. "Darkness…" I could hear myself say groggily.

She placed a wet towel on my head; I could hear the water sizzling softly. "Eris, help me, Megumin your temperature is insane."

Darkness threw off my cover and began to undress me; I was too weak to ask or even resist whatever she was doing.

As if she knew my thoughts, Darkness explained. "I'm going to put you in a cold bath; we **need **to get your temperature down."

She picked me up, as she did, I felt her flinch on contact; I felt her tremble momentarily, but then clench me tightly. She opened the door to my room.

"Yo, Darkness, what are you doing?" I heard Kazuma say.

"Kazuma?" Darkness said. "We need to get her to a cold bath, she's practically on fire."

"Yeah, I know, put her down we need to complete a ritual."

"A ritual?"

"Yes, Darkness-chan." That was the voice of my mother.

"You **do** realize if we don't cool her down quickly, she could—"

"Yeah, I know, that why I'm telling you to put her down," Kazuma explained.

I felt Darkness turn back around and put me down apprehensively. "Kazuma," I heard her say in an unexpectedly intimidating tone, "this better work."

"It will."

Darkness stepped from my side, and my mother knelt beside me. She looked at me with tender eyes; I could tell, behind her strong front, she was in anguish. As she unflinchingly touched my face, she slowly brushed aside my matted hair. I could see a single tear roll down her cheek.

"My little girl," she whispered. "It's ok, your mother is here."

Hearing her words brought me comfort, and I formed tears of my own. They felt hot and hurt as they touched the skin of my face. I could feel my mother turn me on my side and press her hand to my butt. Though confused, I didn't offer any resistance, not that I could. Moments later I felt a coolness burst through me; I felt relief from the suffocating heat after so many hours. My mother turned me back to her and kissed my forehead gently, her hands stroking my hair as she pressed her head to my own.

"You'll be ok now," she whispered. "You're strong, I know you'll be ok. I'm sorry for being such a lousy mother."

I reached over and weakly hugged her, "I love you, oka-san; you're the best mother anyone could ever ask for."

She returned my hug, and after several seconds, pulled away slowly. She wiped the tears from her eyes before turning around to the others.

"She'll be fine now," Yuiyui said.

I stared at Megumin, and then pulled up the covers to conceal her bare chest; though Megumin was undoubtedly naked beneath her sheets, I felt only pity for what she just endured.

Yuiyui exited the room, but Darkness remained.

"Where's Aqua?" I said, still staring at Megumin; she was fast asleep.

"Aqua?" Darkness said in perplexity. "Ah, she took Komekko out to eat, and I think she said something about the tranquility girl."

I couldn't really fault her for leaving such a depressing atmosphere; Aqua couldn't really do anything in this situation.

"Take care of her for me," I said to Darkness.

"Of course, but where are you going?"

"…There's something I have to do," I replied as I left.

As I walked downstairs, the house was quiet and draped in its usual dimness (despite it being the early afternoon). I opened the front door and ran into Yunyun. She stepped back, rubbing her head.

"Oh, Kazuma-san, how's Megumin?" she asked worriedly.

"She's sleeping right now," I replied. "But I think she's getting better."

Yunyun lowered her head and smiled in relief. "I spoke to my father about the mission," she then said with a more serious expression. "He said, 'you made the right call saving your companion' and some other…nonsensical…things." Yunyun sighed as her appearance changed to a more embarrassed one.

"Ah, well don't let me stop you then, Yunyun." I stepped aside and walked off.

"Kazuma-san!" she yelled. "Thank you…thanks."

I shrugged and said, "It was the right thing to do." And then continued walking off into the village. I heard the door shut behind me as Yunyun entered the house.

Soon after, I arrived at my destination, it was the tailor's shop. As I walked in, the tailor, Chekera quickly started his introduction.

"Welcome to the number one tailor shop in all the Crimson Village, my name is—oh wait, it's you." He quickly spat to the side.

"Oi, is that how you treat your customers?!" I said in anger.

"Customer?! You destroyed my family heirloom!"

"It was a weapon of mass destruction!"

"It was **our** weapon of mass destruction!"

"That doesn't make it any better!"

"Get out of my shop!"

"Oi, you're being unreasonable!"

"No, I'm being more than reasonable, unreasonable would be me charring you to cinders the moment you stepped through my door!"

"…yeah, that would be unreasonable, and it would probably also destroy your store."

"Anyway, my decision hasn't changed…get out."

"Look old man, I guess I'm sorry about the heirloom thing, but I need a favor from you."

Chekera frowned. "Nothing you say will dissuade me from my decision, what do you take me as, a wild cur?"

I pulled out a sack full of eris. "Two-hundred thousand, another hundred once you do me the favor."

"What do you need my good sir?" Chekera said, instantly leading me through the store.

"Well for starters, I need a set of upper clothing like the ones I have on, but the best quality you can make."

Chekera looked at the money pouch. I dropped another two-hundred thousand next to it.

"Ok, so a new set of clothes to match the ones you're wearing—"

"Of the highest-quality," I added.

"Of the highest quality," he repeated.

"And I want you to teach me tailoring."

Chekera froze momentarily at my mentioning of my wanting to learn tailoring, he rubbed his chin in intrigue. "You want me to teach you tailoring…may I ask why?"

"To tailor of course," I said matter-of-factly.

"Humph, not many people choose to take up tailoring; it's not exactly the most praiseworthy livelihood."

"How so? People always wanted good clothing, and if you make quality clothes then there's definitely praise to be had."

"What you say is true, at least for me it is; I'm the number one tailor in the village, but for others, it's a struggle and competition to reach the top. If you aren't at the top, then you can see where I'm coming from."

What Chekera was saying, was for the most part, true; but it wasn't like that was exclusive to tailoring.

"Ah, you think I'm trying to open a store. No, I just want to learn tailoring for my own personal reasons," I stated.

Seemingly satisfied with my answer, Chekera sighed. "Very well, I shall teach you the basics of tailoring; we can start on your requested clothes, and you can even practice on your old set."

**_-Back at Megumin's home…_**

As I sat watching over Megumin, Yunyun arrived some time earlier. Megumin was still fast asleep, and I made it my job to serve as her personal guard.

"Yunyun, you should let her rest," I said.

She turned to look at me with a smile. "Darkness-san is protecting Megumin…how admirable."

Her choice of words piqued my interest. "How so?" I asked.

Yunyun slowly look away timidly. "You…like Kazuma-san…right?" She answered in apprehension.

I looked down at Megumin; I felt my face relax completely. I knew it showed no emotion. After a couple of moments, I smiled faintly. "Yes…we **both** love him dearly…but…Megumin is my friend and companion; I will not let anything bad befall her for my own desires."

Yunyun was completely silent; I turned to look at her in concern. Her ears were red, and she stared at me with visible astonishment.

"Yunyun?" I queried.

Yunyun snapped out of her trance and replied, "That was honestly…impressive."

My ears grew hot at her response to my own. I cleared my throat. "Every one of my companions is precious to me; my role is to protect, no matter where I go or what I do, this is the duty I chose to take up."

"Kazuma-san and Megumin have told me you're a rather lewd person at heart, but…"

I cleared my throat once again.

"What will you do then?" Yunyun asked as she stared at Megumin, and then glanced at me.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…how will that work out…will you…share…Kaz…" Yunyun grew a vibrant red as she said every word, finally stopping completely.

"…share…huh…Megumin doesn't seem the type to share the things she covets," I said with a slightly malicious tone; I stared at Megumin's gentle face as I did.

"Hmm…the Megumin I know isn't afraid to share; she might claim something as hers, but…she doesn't like hurting her friends."

I thought back to the times Megumin "shared" Kazuma; she has, indeed, given me more leeway than most, but in the end, Kazuma was still hers. I closed my eyes, my heart began to hurt, and I could feel the emptiness begin to fill it.

Breathing deeply, I said, "I don't know…in the end, it's not up to me. I feel like my chance has come and gone." As I said those words, I almost choked on them; I clenched my fists and could feel them tremble.

"I-I apologize," Yunyun said quickly. "I said too much, I shouldn't have—"

"You shouldn't have…but you did…" I could feel tears brimming, in contrast to the anger that was filling me; I wasn't angry at Yunyun for asking, I was angry at myself for failing to take Kazuma when I had the chance. I was jealous, I was angry and jealous at Megumin, who was younger and more plain-looking than me, succeed.

As my rage began to boil over, I quickly stood up. "Yunyun, please excuse me," I said quickly leaving the room; I shut door behind me.

I looked out over the banister of the second floor and then grabbed the railing. I lowered my head and could feel the overwhelming amount of tears stream out. My legs went weak causing me to fall to my knees. I laid back on the rails, crying as quietly as I could.

_"This pain…this mental anguish…it's the only **true** pain I feel; it's the only time I feel like a normal person. Strange…how **normal** you make me feel Kazuma…"_

I closed my eyes and placed a hand on my chest; my tears continued to flow. I felt weak and powerless, I could feel darkness consuming me, the cold and dimness of my surroundings; they were eating away at me. I felt so tired…even the greatest shield could only bear so much. As I drifted into what felt like a dream, I could hear the dark murmurs of suggestion, I could hear the seductive voice of my desires…I was so tired…I had so little strength left…no one would blame me if I finally fell. As I contemplated it, a familiar voice whispered, "When you were alone, I came to you and promised…never again would you be alone."

"Chris? Eris?" I whispered, I noticed I was clutching my amulet tightly. I smiled. "Ah, so it **was** you."

**Part 3**

"Ah, Yunyun," I said, my eyes focusing quickly on the girl who was by my side. "I thought I heard Darkness."

"Oh," Yunyun said with a faint sadness in her eyes. "Darkness-san stepped out for a moment."

"Hmm, she did? I must remember to thank her sometime later; she's watched over me like a **true** friend."

"Hmm?" Yunyun said noticing the emphasis I put on the word 'true'. "A-Are you talking about me?!"

I quickly averted her gaze.

"T-That's not fair! I-I took care of you—I was the one who suggested we come back!"

"Yeah, you were, weren't you?" I looked back at her with a smug look. "You were the one who convinced everyone to abandon the mission despite my wish not to."

Yunyun shot back in fear, quickly avoiding my eyes. I stuck my hands out maliciously.

As she curled up in defense, she stammered, "Y-you're being unreasonable again, Megumin!"

"Oh, unreasonable? Let's see how unreasonable things are!" I lunged on her and grabbed her breasts. "These things are unreasonable, why are they so large!"

Yunyun tried to pry me away from her and began sobbing. "Please stop, it isn't my fault!"

We wrestled for a couple of minutes before both of us lay gasping on the floor.

"Heh…reminds me…of old times," I said with a smile.

Yunyun laughed weakly. "Yeah…hey, Megumin…"

"Hm?"

"I think I made Darkness-san sad," Yunyun said, staring at the ceiling.

"Oh…why do you say that?" I too, stared at the unremarkable ceiling.

"I think I asked her about something I shouldn't have…"

I closed my eyes, and then sighed deeply. "…you asked about me and Kazuma?"

"H-how did you…hmm, no, that's typical Megumin."

"So, you did…how long ago?" I asked, turning my gaze to her.

"…maybe half an hour ago?"

"And she hasn't come back…" I sat up and redressed myself. "What am I gonna do with this girl?"

As I was about to leave, I noticed the gift box Arue left me. I crouched down and opened it; inside was a small potion. It was a potion I instantly recognized, an Elixir of Healing; a potion meant to heal any sickness. I smiled and closed the box, stuffing it into the small pouch it came with.

"Hm, I knew I was missing something," I said. "Yunyun, attach this this to my belt." I ordered, flicking my cloak open.

"Eh, can't you—"

"Quickly lackey!"

"Lackey?!"

I shook my cloak as I held it open.

Yunyun begrudgingly attached the pouch behind my belt. "There," she said, backing away.

I looked back in admiration of the simple addition. "Hmm, perfect…fully-awakened Megumin is ready for action."

"Hmm, Megumin, maybe you should see about fixing your clothes, or even getting some new ones."

"Pfft, Yunyun, clothes make the person, people already know me by my attire; if I were to suddenly show up on the field with something else people would wonder 'who is this girl?'"

"Umm, I don't think that's how that saying goes…and wouldn't that mean the person in question is actually unknown—"

I patted Yunyun on the head like a sad animal. "It's okay Yunyun…someday I'll find a way to cure you of your weirdness."

Yunyun slapped my hand away. "I'm not weird, you guys are the weird ones."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…she's in denial."

"I'm right here, you know!"

I opened the door to my room, only to find Darkness lying against the railing; she was passed out.

"Yunyun," I said seriously. "Did anyone else come in?"

"Uh, not that I…know of," She replied.

"Give me light."

Yunyun came over to me, and gasped as she saw Darkness.

"Light, Yunyun."

"Oh, uh, Tinder."

I crouched down and examined Darkness…no wounds; her armor was still in shambles. I looked at her face…the area around her eyes were swollen…moisture in a line—tears—she was crying...she passed out crying…she came out here after Yunyun asked her something sensitive about me and Kazuma and passed out crying.

I got back up. "She'll be fine," I said. "Just passed out crying." Seeing Darkness like this made me a bit sad, especially after the lengths she usually went to protect me.

"Oi, Eroness." I poked at her with the end of my staff. "Oi, Eroness…wake up, oi."

Darkness stirred, and then opened her eyes; they were bloodshot.

"Hey, get some rest in the room," I said.

"M-Megumin?" She said wearily. She rubbed her eyes, and then held her head as she winced in pain.

"Were you crying again?"

Darkness froze as if she remembered something traumatic. I knelt once more and hugged her. I felt her tense up momentarily, and then relax, she hesitantly returned the hug and began crying again. I stroked her head, trying to comfort her. Though I knew why she cried, I couldn't do much to alleviate it; my methods were simply stopgaps. Darkness would have to find her own peace, this understanding pained me; I was conflicted because I knew I was hurting my friend, but I couldn't deny myself or my feelings, even for her sake.

I pulled away and helped Darkness up. "Go rest," I repeated. "You've more than earned it."

Darkness nodded and headed to her room. After the door closed, Yunyun looked at me and asked, "Will she really be ok?"

I stared at the door…I could only hope so. Turning away, I began to walk downstairs, Yunyun followed in tow.

"Let's take a bath," I said as I headed in that direction.

"Ah, not a bad idea, Megumin," Yunyun agreed.

As we entered, I took our clothes and put them into a bucket. I stared at the bucket for a couple of seconds, it was the type of bucket I would often find Chomusuke resting in; I missed her.

"Ready, Megumin?" Yunyun said as she entered the actual bath area.

"Ah, yeah," I replied, placing the bucket back down.

Within a couple of minutes, the bath was warm and ready. Both of us climbed in and relaxed. I sunk down to my neck, while Yunyun sat with her chest barely submerged.

"Hmm," I said as I stared angrily at Yunyun's chest.

She quickly noticed and shielded herself, diving lower into the bath soon after. I smirked.

"Good, do something about those things will you, Yunyun?" I said as I laid back opposite of her.

"I honestly don't know what you want me to do, Megumin." Yunyun pouted.

"There must be a magic spell that'll allow you to transfer some of that mass somewhere else."

"There's no such thing, I assure you!" Silence pervade the room for a couple of minutes, before she spoke again. "So…what happened…back at the bath?"

"Hmm?" I was mildly surprised that Yunyun would inquire into such a steamy topic; it intrigued me. "Oh, you wish to know of the many things me and Kazuma did…alone?"

"Y-Y-You said you didn't do anything!" She stammered nervously; she was red from the heat of the water but almost turned a sickly velvet at this point.

"Oh, I did, didn't I?" I teased.

I raised my leg and watched as the water drifted along its contours. I moved it towards Yunyun and wiggled my toes. Yunyun stared at me and pouted once more.

"Scrub…and I'll tell you what happened," I announced with a smirk.

Yunyun expressed shock initially, but it quickly switched to a contemplative appearance. She took my leg after a few seconds and began scrubbing it softly.

"Mmm," I said in relief. "You'll make a good wife, Yunyun."

She threw my leg down in a mixture of anger and humiliation and frowned. "Nevermind, I don't wanna know!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her, so innocent. "Are you sure you don't wanna know?" I said moving over to her side. "We were both…completely naked."

Yunyun looked away but I could catch her glancing in from the corner of her eye from time to time.

"You saw how crystal clear that water was, Yunyun." I slid my hand over the surface of the water. "You could see everything."

I felt Yunyun twitch from discomfort. I tried to hold back my laughter, but it escaped once more.

"Shut up!" she yelled in embarrassment. "You're just as inexperienced as I am; I know you guys didn't do anything!"

"Oh?" I said with a smirk.

Yunyun stared at me in uncertainty. "No…no, y-you're just teasing me…like-like you always do."

My smirk evolved into a sinister smile. "Am I now?"

Yunyun was beginning to grow unsure. She shook her head in disbelief.

"Should I tell you…Kazuma is surprisingly…"

Yunyun quickly covered her ears and submerged her head completely underwater. I laughed again, I laughed so hard I could feel my sides hurt. Yunyun came up and grappled me from behind.

"Whoa—hey!" I said as she grabbed my chest.

"D-D-Did he do this?!" She yelled as she squeezed them.

I struggled to break free from her grasp; normally it would be nearly impossible, however, the slickness of my skin made it happen. I reached out and grabbed her breasts in return.

"No, it was more like this!" I said, squeezing and pulling aggressively.

Water spilled out of the tub as we fought to get away from each other's harassment. This continued for the better part of a couple of minutes until we were both lying against each other's back in exhaustion.

"Ugh, scrub me, Yunyun," I said tiredly.

"You first," she replied with the same level of effort.

I sighed. "Fine."

As I finished scrubbing Yunyun's back, we heard the outer door to the bath open.

I quickly yelled, "It's busy!"

We could hear the person on the other side stop, and then knock on the entrance door.

"It's me, Darkness…can I…come in?" She asked in quite a tentative tone.

"Uhh…sure," I replied.

Darkness entered. Truly, her body even put Yunyun's to shame, nevermind my own. As I stared, I got up.

"Darkness," I said, "let me wash your back."

Darkness stared at me, I did the same; we locked eyes, both unflinching, unmoving. Yunyun looked nervously between us. After a couple more seconds of silence, Darkness stepped forward and stopped behind Yunyun who was currently occupying the bath stool.

"Get up, Yunyun," I said, a sort of coldness in my voice.

Yunyun kept looking between us as she did. Darkness placed a towel over the stool and sat down. She grabbed the length of her hair moved it to her front, revealing her back.

"What a back," I said, kneeling behind her.

Darkness said nothing. Though not chiseled, there were fine lines denoting musculature in the right places and yet her skin appeared incredibly soft. I placed my bare hand on her back, it was indeed, soft. Grabbing the wet towel, I added a bit of soap, and began to scrub softly.

"You can scrub harder," Darkness said, there was almost no emotion to her suggestion.

I hesitated, but then complied. I hadn't really noticed, but we were really dirty, despite coming from another bath not too long ago; guess it didn't matter, if our clothing was filthy, we would be too. I stepped back as I finished scrubbing, Yunyun doused Darkness' back with water.

"Ok, now you can do my back," I said to Darkness.

Darkness, however, did not get up.

"Are you not going to scrub my arms?" She said this without even looking at me.

I was marginally taken aback but knelt once more. I took the towel; Darkness raised her arms out. I stared at them; again, not chiseled, but well-defined, beautiful, almost perfect. I scrubbed them with more aggression than her back; despite the pressure I put on them, Darkness' arms remained unmoving, locked to their positions. Once more, I stepped back and Yunyun ran water over her. Darkness lowered her arms, and then turned around in the stool.

She faced me with crossed legs; I stood stoically with a hand on my hip.

"You look like a real oujo-sama," I said mockingly.

Darkness said nothing and continued to stare. The tension in the air was thick enough to make steam, causing Yunyun to nervously shrink away from us.

"Won't you scrub my front?" Darkness said.

I raised a brow. "Do you think me a servant? No, I think you can handle that just fine." I tossed the towel onto her lap.

Darkness looked down at the towel and then back at me. "Forgive me," she said. "Seems like I overstepped." She grabbed the towel from lap and stool, and then offered me the seat.

My eyes narrowed. I walked forward, placed my own towel, and then sat. I could hear Darkness kneel behind me.

"Hmm," she said as if amused, "such a bony and frail-looking back."

My eye twitched. I heard Darkness squirt some soap onto the towel and lather it in. She pressed it to my back and began scrubbing unreasonably soft.

"Is it too hard?" She asked.

My eye twitched once more.

"You can scrub harder," I replied with the same tone she did earlier.

Darkness scrubbed harder, much harder, like painfully hard. I shoved her off and turned around.

"Want me to do your front?" She asked mockingly.

I shot up and looked down at her. She slowly got up and towered over me.

"Stop this!" Yunyun said, putting herself between us. In all honesty, I completely forgot Yunyun was even present. "You're supposed to be friends! Not too long ago, you both cared for each other and now you're at each other's throats."

Darkness looked down in shame; she took Yunyun's declaration a lot harder than I did.

"I know this has to do with how you guys feel about Kazuma-san but-but what would he say if he saw you both acting this way?!"

I chuckled. "Knowing him, he'd probably sit back and watch."

Yunyun grew silent; she seemed genuinely surprised and disgusted by that revelation. As if looking for confirmation, she looked at Darkness.

"Yeah, he likely would," She said, nodding.

Upon hearing this, Yunyun's will seemed to leave her.

"Anyways, Darkness," I said. "You should just move on, otherwise you're gonna keep getting hurt."

Darkness was shocked by my assertion. "Yeah, that's easy to say when you're the one he chose!" she said angrily. "But what if it was me, what if Kazuma chose me instead of you; would **you** forget about him, what would** you** do?!" She stepped forward. "What would you say if he told **me** he loved me…and not you; could you still say…forget him?"

I contemplated Darkness' words; they hurt to think about, but if I thought about it rationally, in that situation continuing to pursue him would ultimately destroy me. The rational thing to do was simply break ties…but relationships were anything but rational.

"It would be easy, you know," Darkness said sternly. "It would be incredibly easy for me to take him from you."

As she uttered those words, my heart grew icy and a shiver went down my spine; in a game with no rules, Darkness would win…I was at a massive disadvantage.

"Heh," I chuckled. My eyes flared intensely.

Darkness put her hand on my shoulder. She looked at me as she tempered herself. "I could take him from you tonight, and there'd be nothing you could do about it."

I never felt so mad in my life; I was seriously contemplating annihilating Darkness and everything this instant.

"Are you mad?" she said. "That's just a glimpse—a sliver of what I feel—what I have to hold back. I love him…but I made him a promise too." Darkness caressed my shoulder. "Luckily...for your sake…I promised to find another way."

Almost instantly, I placed my palm on Darkness' stomach. "Explo—"

"STOP!" Yunyun said, smacking my arm down.

Both, she and Darkness stood in utter terror. I stared at Darkness unflinchingly, she couldn't match my resolve. She shook her head in disbelief and stumbled back. Yunyun breathed heavily as she stared in disbelief. I looked down and stared at my hand, I was shaking; from anger…from fear…from…excitement? I began to breathe heavily and feel sick; I staggered backwards and fell back onto the shower stool.

What was I thinking? I was ready to do…the unthinkable…everyone would've died; me…Yunyun…Darkness…my mom, dad, Komekko…all gone…in a fit of rage. I struggled to swallow and catch my breath. I got up and quickly ran out of the bath.

**_-That evening_**

I stretched while walking back to Megumin's house. I spent the entire afternoon learning and practicing tailoring. It was tough for me to do since its ease was dependent on the DEX stat, a stat that was fairly average for me. Chekera, the tailor, was unimpressed by my initial attempts, but told me that practice would help my quality improve. After several botched attempts to fix my old set of clothing, I finally succeeded with—according to Chekera's words—remarkable results. Satisfied with my progress, I headed back to see the others. I left so early in the afternoon, that I didn't know how everyone was doing; I especially wanted to see how Megumin was fairing.

Approaching the house, I noticed the unmistakable figure of Megumin sitting out on the front steps of her house; she didn't have her usual attire on, just some sheets wrapped around her.

"Megumin?" I said as I came closer.

She didn't reply or even acknowledge my presence.

"Oi, Megumin." I leaned over to get a look at her.

Her face was devoid of emotion, and she stared wide-eyed into nothingness, even as I stepped in front of her.

"Megumin," I said again, putting my hand on her blanketed arm. I noticed she was naked underneath the blanket.

_"Has she been here since I left? Did she come down here on her own?! What've the other been doing? What has Darkness been doing?"_

"Oi, snap out of it!" I shook her slightly. "Megumin!"

I stood up to open the front door, it was locked; I pounded on it.

"Hey, open up, it's me, Kazu—"

Komekko opened the door.

"Onee-chan's boyfriend…can you help nee-chan…she won't come in," Komekko said sadly.

I turned to Megumin who still hadn't reacted.

"Megumin, hey, Megumin!" I shook her some more, but she remained limp in my hands.

_"What the hell to happened to her?!"_

I picked her up and carried her into the house.

'Where's Darkness?" I said angrily.

Aqua, who lay on the couch playing the GameGirl answered, "She locked herself in her room and won't come out no matter what anyone tells her. At around the same time, that **one** sat outside the house completely naked; had to get her some blankets—"

I slapped the console out of her hands.

"Do you really think this is the time to be playing?!" I said enraged.

Aqua shrunk away from me, but then defiantly retorted, "Well, where were **you** all this time?"

I ignored her question. "What happened here?" I asked, placing Megumin down on the couch; Aqua's repositioning made it possible.

"I'm not sure," Aqua said. "I-I was out with Komekko most of the day; we only came back a few minutes ago."

"So, no one was with Megumin this whole time?! No one was with the girl who was on verge of death?!"

"Again, it's easy to point fingers, but you weren't exactly here either, Kazuma!"

"I was handling…business…other matters!"

I placed my palm on my forehead and rubbed slowly, taking deep breaths as I did.

"Komekko, can you go to your room please?" I asked calmly.

Komekko ran upstairs.

"Megumin's parents…were they here?" I continued to ask Aqua.

"Like I said, I only got here a few minutes ago; this entire scene is just as confusing to me as it is for you."

"The thing that absolutely amazes me is that you decide to play when something like this is happening; aren't you supposed to be the adult?"

"I-I don't need to be hearing this from a guy who wasted his youth rotting away behind a computer screen!"

I glared at Aqua, she pouted back.

"So, no one has an idea what happened and the only one who does, locked herself in her room?"

"I do." Me and Aqua, turned to look at Yunyun who was seated in the corner chair; I didn't even notice her.

**Part 4**

Yunyun recounted what happened in perfect detail; from the moment I left, to this very moment. Me and Aqua sat in disbelief.

"You're the problem," Aqua said, after some time in silence.

"Sh-Shut up," I said, shaking my head. "This has gotten way outta hand."

"You think?"

I glared at her again. She averted my gaze.

"What are you gonna do?" Yunyun asked anxiously.

I sat on the couch next to Megumin—who still hadn't responded the entire time—and stared at her. My heart ached as I contemplated what I should do; Megumin was willing to kill for me, not just anyone, one of her closest friends. One could argue severing the relationship between all parties involved would be the 'right' thing to do; rationally speaking, it might've, but real-life was messy and rarely worked out how one thought it would. Doing something like that was just as likely to exacerbate the issue. No, lines had to be drawn. If this was going to be "fixed", me, Darkness, and Megumin would have to come to an agreement.

I picked up Megumin and went upstairs to Darkness' room.

"Darkness, open up, we need to talk," I said sternly.

After several seconds, I heard the door unlock and Darkness pull back the door. I pushed my way in and turned to face her; Darkness was in her night gown. I tried to be calm, but I could feel my anger rising.

"What the hell is going on with you two?"

Darkness looked down in shame.

"…I asked you to look after her—and this is what I come back to?!" I looked down in disappointment. "This isn't what I wanted to happen…it's why…I was…hesitant about it all; I never imagined in my wildest dreams, that I would have one girl vying for my attention, let alone **two**."

"You know the full story," Darkness said in an almost inaudible tone. "She was gonna kill us, Kazuma…kill **me**."

"You provoked her."

Darkness frowned. "And how many times have **I** been? Do you even know?!"

"…I haven't been fair to you, I know…I expect more from you though."

Darkness turned away and shook her head. "I'm trying my best, Kazuma…it's not easy."

I looked down at Megumin, who was still silent, though she curled up in my chest.

"Megumin," I said. "I need you to speak; you need to be a part of this—you're a major part of this."

She looked up at me, and slowly shook her head. I sighed heavily and placed her down on Darkness' bed. After which, I sat down on the edge. I looked back to Darkness, who now stared at me and Megumin.

"Darkness," I said, "I need you."

Darkness stiffened as she heard those words.

"I need you to be strong because no one else can; I need to rely on you."

Darkness smiled bitterly and looked down in anguish. "You're really the worst, Kazuma…I wish my fetish didn't exempt the feelings you have for me…but unfortunately…it's the only thing that does."

"…"

"I intend to keep the vow I made; I'll continue to honor you and Megumin's relationship…and search for another way to repay—"

"No," I said. "That's not enough."

Darkness stared at me in bewilderment. "What more do you—"

"What do you want?" I asked. "Anything…anything you ask, I'll give to you…no exceptions; you've done more for me, than I could ever hope to repay, so…tell me."

Darkness froze at my explanation. She stared at me and then at Megumin who now began to sit up and stare at me with equal shock.

"Anything?" Darkness asked.

"Anything," I repeated.

Megumin's eyes began to glow, but I continued staring at Darkness.

"You know what **I** want, Kazuma," She said.

"Then ask for it, I wanna hear you say it."

Darkness gulped, "Kazuma…can you please…" Her lips trembled as she tried to finish her sentence.

"Kazuma," Megumin finally spoke, "did you…lie…to me then?"

"So, you can finally speak?" I said, looking back at her. "Now that I got both of your attention, let me make this clear; Darkness, I'm faithful to Megumin, I made her a promise I intend to keep."

Darkness fell to her knees.

"And Megumin," I continued. "Darkness is definitely my type, not only that, she deserves a reward. After I keep my promise to you, I will also have sex with Darkness."

The room went silent at my declaration. Megumin and Darkness stared at each other and then at me. Darkness lunged at me and grabbed me by my shirt, and Megumin put me in a chokehold.

"Do you think it's only about the sex?!" Darkness yelled. "I want your love, I want to be married, I want children, I want you savagely beat me when I ask you to come home from the bar early!"

"So, you're just gonna cheat on me!" Megumin said angrily. "What's all this about being faithful only to have you go have sex with Darkness!"

I smacked Megumin's arm, after a couple seconds more, she let go; I gasped for air. Both stared at me in anger. I smiled.

"There you go," I said, rubbing my neck. "Not the quite the expressions I want to see…but seeing you two agree on something…is worth it."

They looked at each other and then quickly looked away.

"Now then," I said, getting to my feet (Darkness released me). "Finish settling your differences, and Megumin…don't blow up the house in the process."

I stepped out of the room.

I stared at Darkness, and then she looked at me.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I really am; I couldn't believe—I still can't believe that I would do that."

Darkness looked down. "Now we know how far you're willing to go for him; you'll be a good wife."

"Right…a wife that's willing to kill for her cheating husband…great."

Darkness cracked a smile, and then chuckled. "Kazuma is pretty trash, isn't he?"

"Yeah…but he's our trash."

"Our?"

"Yeah…ours…but don't tell him that…and I'm the first so…"

"Wait, are you encouraging polygamy?"

"Of course not, I'll be his one and only, but if he wants a mistress…then maybe…if I happen to know this woman a bit…I wouldn't mind…much…probably."

Darkness laughed. "Nice offer, but I'm not one for half measures, Megumin."

"Oh, too bad, don't come crying to me when all is said and done. I won't make this offer again."

"Then you'd better not slip up, because if you do, you'll lose him."

"I don't make mistakes, Darkness, did you forget, I am Megumin, Genius of the Crimson Demons."

"…I should also apologize," Darkness said, looking at me. "I shouldn't have said those things; if I didn't, you would've never been pushed to that point."

I looked down slightly. "Darkness…you're my friend and my companion, the only reason I feel bad about it is because it was you. All I cause you is pain…and will continue to do so, but don't think I enjoy it; every time I realize I'm hurting you; it kills me inside. I'm not strong enough to be like you Darkness, I can't sacrifice my desires, so please…can I ask you to forgive me?"

Darkness gave a slight nod. "I made a promise to myself and my friends, that I'd be the shield to protect them from harm…it's a promise I intend to keep. Even if you may come to hate me, or if we become enemies…that promise I made shall remain…I will sacrifice myself for those who need me."

"Spoken like a true crusader—no…spoken like Lalatina of House Dustiness."

Darkness covered her face in embarrassment. "Please don't say that name."

"Darkness, I'm serious though…I'm sorry…I shut down after that…I was trapped in my mind all that time; I was afraid of…if Yunyun…if she wasn't there…"

I could feel my breathing increase once more. Darkness placed her hand on my head and hugged me.

"It worked out in the end though, right? The number one genius of the Crimson Demons…doesn't make mistakes."

_"She still protects me…I'm sorry Darkness…that I'll continue to hurt you…one day…I'll find a way…I'll find a way to repay you…that's my promise…to you."_

When Darkness pulled away, she wiped away the tears that formed in my eyes. "Should we go now?" She said.

I nodded and got up. I was still naked, so I wrapped the blanket around me again. Darkness went to open the door…but it wouldn't budge.

"Uh, Darkness, can you open the door?" I asked.

Darkness frantically tried, but it remained closed. "It won't open," she said, struggling with the knob.

"Stand back, I'll use Explosion."

"You'd better not!" Kazuma yelled on the other side of the door.

"Kazuma, open this door!" I yelled.

"Did you make up?"

We looked at each other, and then back at the door. "Yeah," both of us said in tandem.

There was a pause. Darkness turned the knob again, but it remained closed.

"Kazuma!" She yelled.

"Ok, since you two are such good friends again, you wouldn't mind sleeping together tonight, right?" Kazuma said. "The last thing I need is one of you two coming over to bother me."

I frowned at his obvious mention. "Achoo!" I sneezed. "Ugh, I think being naked all this time is making me sick."

Darkness walked over to her bed and fell back onto it. I walked over and sat at her feet.

"Are you really ok with this?" I asked. "Have things gone back to…normal?"

Darkness looked at me, she was visibly tired. "…more or less…I think…I still resent you…but I feel like…you have the same feelings for me as well."

We may have talked things out, but our feelings remained at odds. It was more like an understanding, an agreement to disagree, a truce between enemies, a stopgap measure. The talks weren't pointless though, the situation, had it gone on…it would've completely torn us apart—all of us. If I thought about it, the way things were currently, put the future of our party in a precarious circumstance. As I wondered what the next event would be to drive a wedge between us, Darkness hugged me once more.

"D-Darkness what are you doing?" I said, a slight discomfort building.

"What happened…in the bath?" she asked apprehensively. "What did you and Kazuma do? How far did you go?"

Another one to ask me. "Nothing really," I replied, faint disappointment apparent.

"Nothing…so he backed off again?" Darkness released me and sat back. "How can you be so bold?" She asked off-handedly.

I turned back to look at her. "There's little room for shame to a Crimson Demon especially when it comes to our desires. I don't find myself particularly bold…I just know what I want."

"Younger than me…and yet…so sure…I'm envious of that aspect of you the most."

I grinned and then let it fade before adding, "Not like there's much else for you to be envious about…"

"…don't sell yourself short, Megumin, you may not have a voluptuous body, but I think it works to your advantage."

I understood what Darkness was saying, I understood the "advantage" she spoke of; frankly speaking, it was charm, I had a certain charm to me; my small and frail-looking frame inspired some form of protection from others, my guile could bring them closer. Did I inspire those things in Kazuma, I wondered? Was he merely a victim of this effect or did he actually choose? As I thought about him, I gripped the blankets that covered me.

"Sometimes I wish it was easy though," I finally said, breaking the silence.

Darkness, who was lying on her back now, looked up at me in mild confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"I wonder sometimes…if I had a body like Yunyun…like yours…how much easier would it be?"

"I didn't take you to be that kind of girl, Megumin," Darkness said starkly. "Are you the type of girl who wants men to ogle at her as she passes by, thinking incredibly lewd thoughts, undressing her with their eyes, imagining forcing her down in the middle of a crowded street in full-view of everyone as he—"

"I'm not you, Darkness…no, I mean Kazuma…obviously. He said you were his type."

"And yet he fell for you…despite everything you think I have going for me…he chose you."

"…"

"Just goes to show…looks aren't everything."

"…does that apply to a guy like Kazuma?"

"Apparently so."

I fell back on the bed, we both stared up at ceiling.

"Would you hate me if I had children with him?" I asked.

Darkness closed her eyes and smiled. "I'd love to see them…I'd care for them as if they were my own."

I turned to look at her as she said that; there was no trace of maliciousness on her face. She threw her arms up as if she was holding a small child in them.

"What would you call them?" She asked.

"Hmm…haven't really gave it much thought…but maybe…Koarinin…or Chuchunosuke…hmm—"

"Maybe you should let Kazuma name them."

"Oi, you have a problem with my naming options?"

Darkness giggled.

"Eh…maybe I can name one of the something lame…like…Lalatina."

Darkness froze at the statement and then smiling faintly said, "Please don't."

I moved over beside her and then continued to stare at ceiling. We were both quiet for some time before I spoke once more.

"…I'd love to see your children too."

She turned her face slightly towards me; I caught her expression of surprise out the corner of my eye.

"Your diligence deserves reward," I said, turning my back to her.

I could feel Darkness shift her weight, moments later I felt her back press against my own.

She whispered, "Perhaps it's not such a bad idea after all."

I looked over my shoulder and in the small mirror across the bed could see Darkness asleep with tears. I smiled, lying back down and letting my tiredness overcome me.

**_-Next morning…_**

I looked up at the ceiling as I opened my eyes; the bright morning light cascaded into the room making sleep all but possible. I lazily threw my arm over my eyes and looked beside me. Megumin's cloak was draped over the side of the futon.

_"Ah…yeah…I remember now, I must've fallen asleep after I finished."_

I grabbed the piece of clothing and opened it up in front of me; the quality was nowhere near the levels of a professional, but I was satisfied. I managed to make a set of distinguishing patterns in the cloth, this way, Megumin would know which one of her cloaks was the original. I smiled in admiration of my hard work and then placed the mantle down. The other things I was working on was repairing Darkness' armor and undergarment, repairing Megumin's set of clothes, and making Aqua a set of breast pads; I even briefly considered making something for Yunyun, but after last night's dilemma I didn't need Megumin attempting to kill her best friend.

_"Ugh...what a nuisance this is…I sort of liked it when things were more ambiguous between us."_

The thought of it all made my head hurt and honestly made me tired. I placed my hand on my head and sighed; to think popular guys had to go through situations like this…it's a wonder how they could keep it all together. I got up and prepared myself for the day; I inspected myself in the mirror. Not bad. After unlocking my door, I hesitantly poked my head out; no sign of them. I stepped out, locking the door behind me, and began walking downstairs.

"Kazuma," someone called out from behind me.

I turned around and saw a loli wrapped in blankets; it was Megumin.

With a slight frown, I said, "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen my clothes?" She asked, sniffling afterwards.

"Huh, are you sick?"

"I think…maybe."

"Tsk, you seem to be getting sick quite a lot," I noted, walking over to her. "I ordered new sets of clothing for all of us; they should be done this afternoon."

"Oh…so I guess…I'll just be naked…then."

Oddly enough, **this** embarrassed Megumin.

I raised a brow. "Don't you have other clothing? I thought you packed more?"

Megumin averted my gaze; initially, I couldn't tell if it was due to shyness or embarrassment.

"I forgot," she replied, in a low tone.

Yup, she was embarrassed.

"Huh, you forgot; how do you forget your clothing?"

"I only had one set of clothing for the majority of my life Kazuma," she said, mildly annoyed. "I'm not exactly used to having a wardrobe."

Ah, right, I had forgot that Megumin was extremely poor for most of her life. I placed my hand on her head.

"Did you guys patch things up?" I said, taking a more serious tone.

"Eh…more or less...yeah," Megumin replied with some uncertainty.

I sighed. "…our team is already dysfunctional enough…any less and we might as well go solo."

Megumin stepped forward anxiously.

"Relax…I just mean that if we become even less effective, then it's no different than going alone._ Hmm, is Megumin afraid of being alone?"_

"Y-You promise you won't leave?" She asked franticly.

Suddenly I smiled. "Megumin, you're so clingy."

She turned bright red and covered herself in the blankets. I laughed. She pushed herself lightly into me and popped back out; her expression more solemn.

"I…I-I…don't know how to feel," she finally said, avoiding my gaze. "I don't want to burden you…but"—she pulled the covers around her closer—"I…"

I placed my hand out to stop her, she looked up in bewilderment. "It's ok…I think I understand." I scratched the back of my head, my eyes darted between her and the ceiling. "Truth is…I'm struggling with it too…okay?"

Megumin looked away, smiling faintly.

_"Ahh…what a cute smile…how troublesome…"_

Just then, Darkness came out from her room.

"Oh, Kazuma…Megumin?" She said, looking to us both.

"Darkness," I said in reply. "How'd you sleep?"

Darkness smiled. "I slept fine. Have you seen my armor?"

"You mean what's left of it?"

"Ah, yeah."

"Can't say that I have; both you and Megumin have gone and misplaced your clothing…hopeless."

Darkness cleared her throat. "I last left it in the bath; it might still be there." She started walking past us, I had held out my arm to stop her.

"You two better be ok," I said seriously. "I'm heading back out and I don't wanna come back to another problem."

Megumin and Darkness exchanged looks.

"We're ok," Darkness affirmed.

"Good. By the way, don't go in my room."

Again, they both exchanged looks.

"Why?" Megumin asked.

"You know just saying that is going to have the opposite effect, Kazuma," Darkness said.

"Yeah, especially if Aqua finds out."

I sighed. "Look, I'm working on a project and I don't want you guys going in there and messing it up; just please promise me, you won't go in the room."

The girls looked at each other once more.

"Can you at least give us a hint?" Megumin said.

"No," I replied curtly. "It's basically a new invention I'm creating; that's all I'm saying. Anyways, stay out."

As I turned to leave, Komekko opened the door to her room; rubbing her eyes wearily, she looked over to Megumin and ran over.

"Onee-chan, do you feel better now?" She said, worriedly grabbing on to the blanket wrapped around Megumin.

Megumin knelt down and pet Komekko's head, "Mhm, your onee-chan feels much better now, sorry for making you worry."

Komekko grabbed Megumin's arm and led her downstairs towards the kitchen; I could hear her asking various question about food and eating.

"Ok, I'm off," I said again, turning to Darkness.

"Huh, oh, ok. See you later," she replied with a quick nod.

**Part 5**

I left the house and was on my way to the bar; I would visit the tailor later, practicing the skill and picking up the new sets of clothing along the way. For now, I figured it would be better to find a way to relax and help me think. Although I was under no obligation to go back to the frontlines, I felt somewhat annoyed that I was unable to complete the task; given what happened though, no one could really blame me for abandoning it…hell, not even the chief—who gave me the mission—blamed me. Still, there was something nagging at me to try again.

Nerimaki, another Crimson Demon and one of Megumin's school friends, came from out back.

"Ah, a customer," she said with enthusiasm. "I am Nerimaki, daughter of—"

"Yup, you're one of Megumin's friends, right? Can I get something to eat and a drink?" I said, waving Nerimaki's introduction off.

"Ah!" she said, pointing angrily at me. "You're Megumin's boyfriend, aren't you?"

"Eh—n—I quickly had a flashback to what Megumin said in the bath—uh…sure."

"Hmm, I didn't expect Megumin to keep such rude company…although she did have a habit of attracting odd people."

"Oi."

Nerimaki quickly smiled. "What'll you be having, sir?"

"Give me the house special and a…beer…I guess."

Nerimaki gave me a slightly concerned look but gave a short bow and disappeared around the back.

I slumped back in my seat and looked around; the bar was empty today too, made me wonder how it managed to stay open. Nerimaki came back with my drink and placed it before me, she then returned to the back once more. Taking a couple of sips, I waited for my food. The doorbell rung as the door swung open; a short and heavily robed person walked in and took a seat next to me. My eyes narrowed as I looked at this suspicious person next to me. As I was about to question them, Nerimaki came back around with me food.

"Here you go," she said, placing the plate down in front of me. "One house special, Demon King's Vengeance in Lava sauce."

She then turned her attention to the robed individual and went through her introduction. When she finished, Nerimaki asked the person what they wanted. The robed person simply pointed at my plate.

"Ok, one of the same then, a Demon King's Vengeance in Lava Sauce coming right up. Any drinks?"

The stranger waved off the question. Nerimaki disappeared once more. For some reason I was feeling incredibly tense, my leg bounced as I quickly ate my food and downed my drink. I couldn't really make out any features on this person, they covered their face and they eye closest to my sight was covered in an eye patch. I didn't like the feeling of this. Finishing the majority of what I ordered, I placed my eris down on the counter and was prepared to leave.

The robed individual placed a hand on my chest, specifically over my heart and I could feel the edge of something sharp pressing into my shirt.

"Stay," they whispered; it was in a low enough tone that I couldn't pick anything out.

I gulped.

_"Do I take the chance and run? If I do, what would happen to Nerimaki—If I tell Nerimaki…no they'll kill me—and probably her too…damn…"_

I slowly turned back in my stool; the pointed edge flowed around my chest to the side of my ribs. Seconds later, Nerimaki came back around with another plate; she placed the new one before my assailant, and then as she took my change, bowed.

"Hope you enjoy!" She said cheerfully to the stranger.

I tried signaling Nerimaki with my eyes, but my attempts all resulted in failure. As she disappeared around the back once more, the robed individual slowly turned their head towards me.

"Yo…Satou." Before I could look, I already knew who this was; facing them, confirmed my suspicions, it was Arateia, the Demon King's Daughter.

"How'd you get here?" I said sternly.

Arateia simply smiled, a completely sadistic smile. Just then a powerful shock shook through the shop.

_"Megumin? This is my chance!"_

As I was about to move, Arateia shoved the edge of the sharp object into my skin; she wasn't caught off guard.

"You look quite tense, Satou…you should relax," She teased.

Moving closer to me, she pressed the edge deeper; I could feel blood seep out.

"You came here to kill me?" I whispered.

She smiled once more. "I came here to talk…maybe go out on a date," she teased once more. "This place is crowded though; what do you say we go somewhere more…secluded."

Arateia grabbed my shoulder and led me towards the bathroom.

"Oi, what are you doing?" I asked nervously.

"Getting some privacy," She said smirking as she pushed us through the door.

The door closed behind us as she turned me around to face her. I could see the object in her hand was a simple-looking dagger. Upon closer inspection, I could see its entire edge—up to the point—was noticeably serrated; it was a weapon meant to draw blood with little effort.

"Hm," she said with some disappointment, "I half expected a virgin like you to be somewhat aroused at a situation like this."

"Gah—what type of pervert do you take me as—even I have standards you crazy loli!"

As I yelled, she moved the edge of the dagger between my eyes. "Watch it," She said menacingly.

"So…what are you gonna do?" I asked nervously.

"What am I gonna do?" she repeated. Her sadistic smile returned. "I'm gonna have a lot fun with you Satou, **we're** gonna have a lot of fun…so much fun, you'll dead by then end of it all."

_"Why the hell do I attract the weirdest girls, what's wrong with my luck?! Gahhhhh!"_

"Void Warp," She said, and a portal appeared in front of one of the stalls.

Before I could say or do anything, Arateia shoved me through. I appeared on the other side in some fields. Looking around, I could see the Crimson Village some distance behind me.

"Move," Arateia said, appearing by my side. She softly pressed the dagger into back, drawing more blood.

I complied. This was a field, and this was the direction that explosion came from; Megumin must be out here.

_"If I can get Megumin and whoever she's with attention, there could be a way out of this mess."_

Sure enough, as me and Arateia pressed forward we crossed paths with Darkness, and Megumin who was on her back. Even though I knew Megumin couldn't have been naked, I comically thought she would be; no, Megumin wore her old school robes. Darkness wore another set of her black undergarments.

"Well, well," Arateia said with almost no surprise in her voice, "look who have here."

"Kazuma?" Darkness said, "Who's this?"

We were separated by some distance, so Darkness and Megumin couldn't really grasp the severity of the situation.

"Hello, ladies," Arateia said in a mockingly sweet tone. "Me and Satou here are just off to do a couple quests, you won't mind if I request his assistance?"

As I was about to say something, Arateia pressed the blade deeper; I bit my lip.

"Kazuma, is this true?" Darkness said.

I stared at Darkness, and then stared at Megumin; I made a barely discernable shake of my head. Megumin narrowed her eyes.

_"Please notice."_

"Darkness," Megumin said, her eyes locked to mine. "It seems like what this person is saying is—"

Before Megumin could finish, Arateia flung her robes off, and instantly closed the distance between them.

"Die," she said, both lunging towards Megumin and thrusting the dagger out.

It was too quick for me to even process; even if I could make a plan to counter this, there was simply no way to enact it quick enough. Arateia was banking on this…I'm almost sure of it. I stood in shock as time seemed to come to a crawl; Megumin's face barely changed from the initial encounter. All I could see was Arateia slowly moving towards Megumin with her arm outstretched, dagger drawn. As my perception of time ended, Arateia connected…but with Darkness instead. The dagger pierced her abdomen and slid in a couple of centimeters before stopping. Moments before Darkness recovered, Arateia jumped back besides me, simultaneously opening another portal and shoving me through.

"See ya later ladies; I'll be waiting at the fort," She said as she walked through.

Darkness dashed at the portal, but it closed before she could reach it.

"Damn it!" she yelled, punching the ground. "How could I be so stupid?!"

"Darkness," I said as I lied on the ground. "We need to hurry home…now!"

She got up and ran over to me.

"How's the wound?" I quickly asked as she knelt in front of me.

"I'll be fine," She said, frustration in her voice.

I climbed onto her back, and Darkness and I went on our way; she ran swiftly despite being stabbed.

"Sorry," I said softly; I buried my face in her back.

"Hmm? For what?"

"You took that stab when it was meant for me, I'm sorry."

I couldn't see Darkness' face, but I knew from her tone, she was smiling. "I told you, I'm your shield; besides"—I could feel her shiver—"it feels…sort of…good."

_"Ugh, I regret everything."_

Darkness picked up her pace, I could see the village clearly ahead; we would be there in no time.

_"Wait for us Kazuma…we're coming."_

**_-Meanwhile…_**

I fell face-first on to a cold stone floor, Arateia walked in behind me.

"Welcome…to my humble abode," She said, mockingly bowing before me.

"What is this place—where'd you take me?!" I yelled.

Arateia whipped around and grabbed my jaw, the edge of the dagger was millimeters from my eye. "This…is where the fun begins," she said, her voice low and steady. "This…is my favorite room…basically."

She let go of me and twirled around in an action becoming a girl of her appearance. Arateia smiled twistedly. "This…is my torture chamber." She spread her arms out like a showman as she announced it.

"T-t-torture?" I stuttered. "I-I don't think that's necessary—"

"May be not," she said curtly. "But I don't care."

I felt a shiver run up my spine as I frowned slightly. "Look," I said, "there's really no reason for you to do something like this, j-just let me go."

Arateia stared at me completely unamused, and then sighed, her face softened to an almost surprising level of complacency. Sitting down in front me, she placed her head on her hand and then pointed for me to sit as well. With some apprehension, I sat. She crawled forward; her mouth was by my ear.

"I've been so bored, Satou," She in a seductive whine. She placed her hand in the open spot between my legs.

I was genuinely confused and terrified at what was happening; I didn't know how to process it.

"I've been so bored…but," she said, drawing closer to me, "you're gonna change that."

I gulped. Arateia backed away slowly, grabbing the front of my collar as she did. Pulling me along, I followed her semi-unwittingly. Finally, we stopped into a room full of various torture instruments; I snapped out of the seductive coercion.

_"Shit, of course!"_

I tried to turn around and run, but Arateia extended her arm and said, "Cursed Bind." I instantly froze, I could feel what felt like ropes constrict tightly around my body. Arateia, walked in front me and bent forward with a smirk.

"Don't try to run now…the fun is just about to start."

With strength unbefitting her, she forced me to my knees. The binds were still present, arresting me in place; seconds later my arms were forced apart.

"We have a lot to talk about," Arateia said, grabbing a nearby chair, and taking a seat in front of me.

"What could I possibly have to speak with you about?" I said nervously.

"Hmm, quite a few things…but don't worry too much; I'll be doing most of the talking anyways," she said, picking the underside of her nails with the bloody dagger she so fondly used. "Let's start with this," she said digging into her chest armor. She pulled out Megumin's amulet. "Amulet of the Demon Genius," she said as she held it up, staring at it while it twirled slowly in the air. "A Divine Relic…so you say."

My eyes narrowed and I swallowed nervously; I didn't like where this was going.

Arateia placed her head on her hand again, and asked, "So…what does it do?"

"Huh?" I said in complete surprise.

She sat back in the chair and crossed her legs. "What. Does. It. Do?" She reiterated, slowly, more menacingly.

"It…it protects its user…from—"

"From harm?" she finished; her eyes were locked to mine; her face showed complete noninterest. "No… it doesn't…does it?"

"…"

"You…lied to me." Her face was stoic as she uttered those words. She then turned her attention back to the twirling trinket in her hand. "Did you actually think…I fell for such a stupid lie?" Arateia slowly turned her attention back to me and sat forward.

"…"

"Let me explain where you went wrong. First, I know what this is," She said as she played with the trinket. "Living close to that accursed village makes you aware of certain things; for example, I know that the Crimson Mages are fond of stereotypes and traditions, a trinket like this is quite common, used for different purposes, but for the most part they're used as a sort of charm or talisman. The reason I didn't call you out on it in the first place was because the mana that seeps from this charm is remarkably strong…and divine." Arateia looked up at me as she said.

"When I looked inside, I found hair strands…pretty normal thing to do for this…nothing out of the ordinary…except…one of the hair strands was anything but normal. This blue hair," she said as she opened the top of the trinket and pulled Aqua's strand out.

_"Aqua's…"_

"You see, just touching this makes me feel itchy; whoever's hair this is, is definitely divine—or at the very least, somewhat holy."

I gulped at the succinctness of her deductions; Arateia's intelligence was something to be feared.

"Second…Amulet of the **Demon** Genius? A Divine Relic named after a **Demon**? Even you must admit, that was sloppy on your end."

"…"

"Finally, even with the aura this emits, it's miles behind what an actual Divine Relic exudes; anyone who knows about the relics would know this at a glance."

She returned Aqua's hair back to the trinket, and then tossed it at my chest.

"You can have it back, in fact, I was interested in seeing how effective it was at protecting…its…user…from…harm." She said slowly, getting up and twisting the dagger in her hands. "Here, let me help you," she said, gently placing the trinket around my neck.

She stepped back as if to admire her work, and then smiled at me. I felt incredibly tense; I knew what came next wouldn't be good.

I barely caught her movement as Arateia stepped forward and drove the dagger into my rib in one motion; I could feel my bone split as the serrated metal wedged itself cleanly between the thin bone. The pain was so intense I choked on my yell while simultaneously almost blacking out. I convulsed from the shock.

"Hurts doesn't it?" she said, walking around me. "I spent a lot of time figuring out the anatomy and physiology of many creatures…but I have to say…humans are the ones I'm most familiar with.

I could barely hear her as my mind grew hazy from all the agony.

"You probably don't know it...but that dagger is likely millimeters from piercing your lung. If it did, you'd probably pass out in seconds, and when you woke back up again, you'd probably have only minutes to live as you choked on your own blood."

Arateia stepped in front of me and smiled.

"Hell of a thing, a collapsed lung; not a good way to go."

"What…is wrong…with you?" I said; now that she mentioned it, I could feel a sharp poke every time I inhaled…it was incredibly debilitating.

Arateia stepped away from me and sat back in the chair.

"Seems like that trinket doesn't really work," She joked.

I glared at her weakly; my breathing was becoming shallow as I tried to limit how hard I inhaled.

Arateia sat back and crossed her legs, from a nearby bag she rummaged through, she pulled out some chocolate. "Previous guest left it," She said with a smile; she happily took a bite.

Minutes passed as she kicked her legs happily in a sick parody of an innocent child. When she finished, she balled up the wrapper and tossed it at me. Arateia licked her fingers sensually and smiled.

"Satou," she said, placing her hands on her legs. "Did you know, I'm a Dark Knight—well a Blackguard, more specifically?"

I looked at her with fading conscious; my body began to sag under its own weight.

"Am I boring you, Satou?" She said, quickly getting to her feet. She flicked the end of the dagger.

I reeled back in agony as the pain shot through my system; my heart raced in excess, waking me up instantly.

"Good, seems I got your attention again." Arateia sat back down. "You should listen to what I have to say—"

"What for, you're just gonna kill me anyways; so, get it over with already, you bitch!" I was growing weary and angry at both, my assailant and the situation I was in.

Arateia cackled at my outburst. She covered her mouth timidly. "My, what a lively guest."

"Satou, I just want you to know a bit more about the world you so…graciously…accepted to come to."

I struggled against the invisible bindings that held me in place; my anger was overpowering the fear I felt for some time now.

"Ah," Arateia said in excitement. "Let me tell you this, I bet you didn't know about class changes."

I continued to struggle.

Growing visibly annoyed, Arateia placed her head on her hand once more. "Would you settle down? If I wanted to kill you, I would've already; we're waiting for your friends to arrive."

I stopped resisting and glared at her. "What for, you gonna kill them?!"

Arateia clapped, "Of course I'm going to kill them, you dolt; I'm going to kill them in front of you while you watch. By the way…that Crimson Demon girl…you have some connection to her…don't you…a particularly close connection."

My eyes narrowed.

"It's pretty obvious, she was the one who noticed something was wrong when I kidnapped you and she's the one who made you that trinket…right?"

I remained silent.

Arateia smiled devilishly. "I got something special lined up for her…I hate Crimson Mages anyways…."

"You touch her and—"

"And what?" Arateia said walking up to me; she made a motion to grab the dagger and I flinched. "You're a slave to the pain, Satou. I cherish it; as a Knight of Darkness, your suffering sustains me."

I glowered at her silently.

"You know, I wasn't always one," Arateia said, stepping away from me. "I used to be a normal…boring knight. When I went on adventures, I was the frontline fighter, how I loved to spill the blood of my enemies…I noticed I was only satisfied when I heard their death throes…their cries…when I was awash in the fresh scent of their blood…your actions make you what you are, Satou."

"You're fucking sick…it's amazing that I could feel this disgusted by a girl," I said sternly.

Arateia smiled as if I was complimenting her. "I changed into what I was meant to become," She said as she placed her arms on my shoulders and her face centimeters from mine. "That blonde girl…the Crusader…I sense it…I sense the same thing from her."

_"Darkness…is she talking about Darkness?"_

"I can hear the echoes of impurity coming from her."

_"Uhhh…is she sensing…Darkness' fetish?"_

"I don't think you know, what you think you know," I replied.

Arateia smiled once more. "We won't have to guess much longer, Satou; there are a lot of things you still don't get about this world. Don't worry though, we're gonna be well-acquainted by the time your friends get here. I just hope…they show up before you give up."


	5. Chapter 4: The Tale of the Two Demons

**Chapter 4: The Tale of Two Demons **

**Part 1**

It was already evening by the time me and Darkness began preparing to go rescue Kazuma. When we arrived back at the village, we told Aqua about what happened, at the same time she treated Darkness' wound.

Aqua tilted her head as she frowned slightly. "Humph, always getting into some kind of mess, can't he go five minutes without causing me trouble?" She said; her annoyance was apparent, but there was a hint of pity mixed in as well.

I looked away in disbelief; the irony and arrogance of such a statement.

Aqua continued. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped; if a demon has taken Kazuma, then there's no way I can let this be. If nothing else, that demon must be punished for daring to exist."

"Aqua," I said in a marginally exasperated tone, "it's the Demon King's daughter; according to what I know about her, she's unlike anyone we've ever faced. If she was the one who prevented us from using magic in the forest, then it just means I won't be able to do much, and you'll have to get in close."

Aqua gave a pompous smirk. "I prefer to get my hands dirty when it comes to beating up demons; nothing like setting those pieces of walking trash in their place."

I forgot how much Aqua hated demons; against such enemies, one could probably even say she was useful…somewhat…maybe…probably.

"Well, I'll leave the preparations to you and Darkness," Aqua said, returning to the game my little sister, Komekko and her were playing throughout the whole conversation.

I frowned at how nonchalant Aqua was taking the situation, and then sighed deeply. Darkness had already gone upstairs to prepare while I spoke with Aqua, so by the time I went to join her, she was practically done.

"Everything is set," She said, coming out of her room with a large pack on her back, and another slung around her arm. She still wore her black undergarment.

"Darkness, where's your armor?" I asked.

"Eh, well, I couldn't find it; I looked everywhere, but…no luck. I'll put in an order for another set before we leave town."

Ah, right, I remembered Darkness got her armor custom-made by the blacksmith of the village; how convenient.

I looked at my own clothing; my old school robes still fit me, but they were heavily worn with patches worked into several places. As I grimaced at the shabbiness of my appearance, I remembered Kazuma saying a set of clothing he ordered was to be picked up in the afternoon, it was now evening.

"Darkness," I said, turning my attention to her, "we should probably go pick up the sets of clothing Kazuma bought."

Darkness, who was double-checking the packs, turned back to me. "Oh, not a bad idea; I'm surprised you're not throwing caution to the wind though, Megumin; I really expected you to immediately set off to rescue Kazuma."

I opened my mouth to retort impulsively at the slight to my pride but bit my lip and closed my eyes instead.

"We've got to be prepared," I replied, "if we go there without a plan, we'll just be liabilities."

While what I said was for the most part honest and true, the real reason was that I recently became more aware of my impulsiveness and brashness; these were bad traits that I wanted to somewhat temper; I didn't want to be a burden to Kazuma.

Darkness nodded with my assessment, she smiled. "You've grown, Megumin," she said with an almost doting smile.

For some reason, I grew embarrassed by Darkness' praise and turned my face away from her sight.

Shortly after, Darkness left for the smith while I headed to the tailor's shop; I was still quite tired from this morning's explosion, but after so much time left to recover, I was able to get around without having to be carried. As I opened the door, a bell rung and a moment later the tailor, Chekera, came from the back of the shop.

"Oh, a new customer—no wait, you're Hyoizaburo's daughter…Megumin, right?"

I gave a quick nod.

"Ah, so what brings you here today; came to pick up a package for your parents?" He said as he walked behind the counter.

"I'm here to pick up a package left by an adventurer by the name, Satou Kazuma," I replied; I tightened the grip around my staff subconsciously as I said his name.

Chekera stood with a puzzled expression as he tried to recall the name; seconds later, it came to him. "Ah yes, Kazuma-san…hmm, he said he would be coming around the afternoon today—"

I quickly interjected. "He, he had an important matter to tend to; he asked me to pick up the parcel in his place."

Chekera looked at me dubiously, but then smiled. "Megumin, are you and Kazuma-san…together?"

My eyes lit up as Chekera mentioned it; I quickly looked down to avoid his gaze. Clearing my throat, I answered, "M-Me and Kazuma…are…close friends…you can say…"

Chekera was silent; I glanced up in curiosity of his expression; he was smiling. He let out a hearty laugh as my eyes met his.

"My, youth is a wonderful thing; I hope your father knows," He said as he pulled out a couple of boxes from behind the counter. "This might be a bit much for you to carry, if you'd like I could send—"

"It's fine, I got it," I said, somehow managing to carry all the boxes.

I gave my farewells and stumbled out of the shop. As I wobbled through the village and back to my house, I heard a familiar voice.

"Megumin!" It was Yunyun.

I paid her no mind as she ran up to me. "Hey, Megumin, are you ok?" Yunyun noticed the difficulty I was having walking around with the many boxes. "Hey, do you need some help?" She offered.

"Ah, why yes, thank you, Yunyun…ever the observant creature."

She frowned at the comment but took a few of the boxes off my hands.

"What are these?" She asked.

"Boxes," I replied succinctly.

Again, she frowned at me. "I mean what's in them?"

"Things," I answered concisely.

She began returning the boxes to their original places. "O-ok, clothes, they have clothes!" I gave up.

Yunyun smiled and grabbed the boxes she returned. "You finally bought new clothes?" She asked happily.

"Foolish, Yunyun, I've bought clothes before."

"Oh, so, Megumin is being quite bourgeois then?"

"Humph, I just thought it would be nice to have a set of clothes here in the village; that way, when I decide to visit, I don't have to pack any from Axel."

"Ohhh?" Yunyun replied with doubt written all over her face. "Megumin probably just forgot to pack her clothing."

"Gah!" I hunched over slightly in embarrassment.

"Oh, Yunyun," Darkness said, coming from the smiths; she quickly relieved me of most of the boxes.

"Darkness-san, umm…is everything…ok?"

We understood Yunyun's feeling of awkwardness; the last time we were all together, I was moments from turning my house into a crater.

I sighed heavily. "Everything's fine, Yunyun," I quickly said.

Yunyun looked at Darkness for confirmation; she smiled and gave a nod. Upon seeing this, Yunyun looked back to me and smiled. "Good…I'm glad everything worked out. Friends are important."

_"This girl…if it has anything to do with 'friends' she can be so easily swayed."_

"So…is Kazuma…" Her voice trailed off; Yunyun looked away.

Silence pervade us for a couple of seconds. "Kazuma…is in trouble," I answered.

Yunyun looked back at me in surprise.

"Kazuma-san is in trouble, w-what happened?"

"He's been kidnapped," Darkness replied mildly angry; she recollected the moment.

Yunyun stopped, we, a moment later.

"Are you guys—"

"Of course," I said matter-of-factly.

"Um, how long ago?"

Darkness and I looked at each other. "This morning?" I replied.

"M-Morning?!" Yunyun said in shock. "How come you're still—"

"Preparation is key, Yunyun; I thought you would know this," I said strictly.

"Ah—well, I just thought…since it involved Kazuma-san…" Yunyun grew silent.

I sighed; the second person that doubted my patience. Had I really been so impetuous all this time? I turned back around and kept walking; my house was in sight.

"I'm going!" Yunyun announced as she ran up to my side.

"Hmm, it's against the Demon King's daughter; magic will likely be useless," I briefed her.

I stared out the corner of my eye at Yunyun; I was gauging her response. She fidgeted uncomfortably with a torn expression. I broke my observation and sighed.

"You don't have to go," I said despondently.

"Uh, no—I—"

"It'd be better if you didn't," I said stoically.

We reached the front door of my house. Yunyun looked down hopelessly.

I gave a faint smile. "It'll be fine, Yunyun."

She stared at me. "I know you better than anyone," Yunyun said softly. "I **know** you're a good friend…you may say you aren't strong like Darkness-san, but I know you are…you've always sacrificed yourself for me…"

I stared at Yunyun; I was slightly surprised and embarrassed at her honesty. "Eww, Yunyun is giving off yuri vibes," I teased.

She quickly covered her face behind the boxes she carried. "Sh-shut up, am not!"

Megumin," Darkness said. I turned my head to face her; she gave a quick nod to show haste.

"Well, see you later, Yunyun," I said as I turned to open my door.

"Wait!" she yelled. "I still want to go."

I hesitated, and then faced her. "…where we're going is likely a one-way trip; I'm prepared to take it for him, but you shouldn't have to—"

"I'm not…I believe in you…I know we'll make it back…besides…" Yunyun dodged my gaze and fidgeted slightly. "I'm not going for Kazuma-san…I'm-I'm…" The rest of what she said was inaudible.

I raised my brow. "What an odd girl you are, Yunyun…anyways if you're set on coming, tell your parents and go get ready; we leave in twenty minutes."

Darkness took the rest of the boxes from Yunyun, and the young girl dashed off into the village.

I turned back to Darkness. "We leave now," I said.

**_-At the frontline fort…_**

"Wake up, Satou." Arateia said.

Hours had passed and I was still being tortured; from what I could remember, Arateia continued to tell me bits and pieces of information while slowly bleeding me. At this point I had several small incisions and bruises all around my body. I would've died from loss of blood several times over if she didn't continually heal me. At some point Arateia tore apart my shirt, the shirt I worked so hard to repair; it was now in a worse state than before.

One of the things she told me was about the benefits of what she called, an "organic" class change; if one obtained a class change through repetitive behaviors and actions, they could be presented with the opportunity to undergo this type of class of change. The benefits of this type over the typical "paid" class change was that "organic" class changes allowed one to retain spells or skills from the previous class.

Using her own experience, Arateia went from being a Knight to a Dark Knight. Aside from priests and their associated jobs, Adventurer and Knight were the only classes with access to healing; ergo, she learned the weakest available healing spell called, "Quick Heal" and was using this to sustain my life throughout the torture. The bad thing about this low-level healing spell, as I noticed early on (and she later clarified) was that Quick Heal merely stopped bleeding; it was akin to first aid, preventing death or in my case, prolonging suffering.

"Pretty disappointing," she said, sitting down on the chair. "It's only been a half a day and you're already a husk. At this point, I don't think you'll make it to their 'rescue'."

She was right, I was so exhausted and numb to the pain that there was little she did that could elicit a response. I stared with sullen eyes at my captor.

"Verrun," She called out.

At once a shadow appeared by her side; a large demon-like creature. It bowed courteously as it materialized.

"Yes, Arateia-sama?" the creature named, Verrun said; its voice was deep and reverberating.

"Attend to our guest in my absence; I'm gonna get some rest. I want him alive."

Verrun bowed deeply as Arateia got up and left the room. The door shut, and the demon now turned its attention to me.

"I am Verrun, one of the Counts of Hell, adjutant to the Duke of Hell, Viscora, Lord of Avarice and Envy. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, human."

Verrun was extremely tall like most other demons, with a dark grey complexion, blood-red eyes, but a surprisingly humanoid face. It wore clothing in the style reminiscent of my world's Victorian-Era with many trinkets and baubles, rings and bracelets adorning its clothing and appendages.

"I don't suppose…you'll let me go?" I said half-jokingly.

Verrun stared silently at me, and then spoke. "Even if I were to let you go…where would you go, human; in your state you'd be dead before you even left the fort and assuming you somehow managed to do that, you're on the frontlines…you'd be killed either way."

What it said was true; quite simply, even if I was in perfect condition, getting out of this scenario would be nearly impossible.

"Hey…can you do me a favor?" I said, knowing full well it probably wouldn't comply.

Verrun didn't outright refuse, it simply stared at me as it waited for my request.

"Can you get a message out to another demon?"

Verrun's eye's narrowed. "Which?" it asked sternly.

I smiled weakly, "The all-seeing demon, Vanir."

Verrun expressed visible shock and then its eyes narrowed even further, causing it to furrow its brow. "How do you know this name?"

"I have a contract of sorts…with that devil."

Verrun looked away, it appeared it was contemplating my request. "A contract you say, what type of contract?"

"Heh…the only contract that matters to you guys."

"…I will not betray my princess; however, as long as it doesn't conflict with my orders, I can relay your message when she returns."

To think I was using an enemy devil to send a message to another devil; this is the situation I was currently faced with.

"However," Verrun added abruptly, "there is always a price when making a deal with a devil; you shall pay accordingly, correct?"

I nodded weakly, "As long as I get to choose the price," I said. "No point if I can't make good on it, after all."

"…very well."

**_-On the long road to the capital…_**

"I didn't expect you to lie to your friend, Megumin," Aqua said as she sat back in the carriage's seat. "That poor girl is going to be devastated when she finds out you left her behind."

I stared out the side of the coach with a hand under my chin. Yunyun probably would be devastated as Aqua said, but I couldn't risk her being hurt…or worse. Under the circumstances, taking Yunyun would've been a bad idea; a Crimson Mage who can't use magic is basically useless…and yes, I was aware of the hypocrisy.

"If we took her, we could've gotten to the frontlines much quicker though," I said, to offset my feelings of guilt.

Darkness, who sat beside me, spoke. "I can understand why you didn't want to take her Megumin, but…" She looked at me as if to say, 'you're not much better'.

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye, and then lazily stared back out the side window. Taking the long road, (the one we were on now) would make it so we reached the capital in about a week's time; if we got off early and made the trek to the frontlines on foot, it'll be nearly two weeks before we reached the front; it would be nearly two weeks before we would reach Kazuma…two weeks he was likely being subjected to heinous torture and mistreatment; the thought of which, made me wince in anger.

Noticing my discomfort, Aqua loudly bit down on a cracker she was eating. "I wouldn't worry too much about Kazuma," she said. "That boy has some redeeming qualities as far being treated like trash goes; I don't think he'll be too traumatized."

I frowned at Aqua, and then continued staring out the window.

"Hmm," Darkness said, a look of deep thought on her face, "if only it was me…I should've been the one to go in his place."

I looked back at Darkness. "Darkness…you did what you could," I said, reassuring her.

"No…I didn't do enough. Can you imagine the torture he must be going through? A fort on the frontlines with demons powerful enough to hold back the capital's forces; surely their captives must be facing horrendous amounts of pain and suffering." Darkness began to smile at the thought, her body quivered in excitement. "If I get captured while fighting, do you think I will meet the same fate?!"

_"Uhhh…hopeless."_

Ignoring Darkness, I turned back to the scenery outside. The carriage bumped lightly along the dirt road as silence befell us; Aqua's loud bite against another cracker, broke the it once more.

"I don't understand how you two can be so desperate—especially you, Megumin," Aqua said as she withdrew another cracker from the bag.

I raised a brow as I turned to her. "What do you mean?" I said.

Aqua avoided my gaze and took another bite of the fragile snack. "I mean you guys and Kazuma…I don't really get what you guys see in him."

I stared at her for a couple of seconds before looking down and then away. "Quite an odd thing to say…I mean, you've known him longer than either of us; in fact, it's odder that you don't feel anything for him yourself—"

Aqua burst out laughing before I could finish; I could feel pieces of chewed cracker hit me on the face. She laughed for some minutes before calming, and then replying.

"It's because I know him so well; I have no romantic feelings for him." Aqua took another cracker from the bag. "But," she added, "it doesn't mean I don't feel for him sometimes."

"Feel for him…romantically?" I queried.

Aqua hesitated biting into the next cracker, and then looked up at me; her face was on the verge breaking out into another tirade of laughter. She dropped her head in order to suppress it; her body shook as she tried her very best. After a few seconds, Aqua sat back up and continued eating.

"No…not romantically," she finally said, her face twitching as she said 'romantically'. "Kazuma…hmm…I don't know what I really feel for him…all I know is…it's fun being around you guys…him included…I like it. Sort of makes me forget about Heaven for a bit." Aqua became slightly sad as she mentioned Heaven.

I looked at her in confusion, Darkness did as well.

"Heaven?" Darkness said.

"Mhm," Aqua said, taking another cracker from the bag. "I told you guys, I'm the Goddess of Water; I lived in Heaven before coming down here with Kazuma."

Darkness and I exchanged concerned looks; perhaps the absence of Kazuma was starting to seriously affect her too. We nodded excitedly at Aqua's revelation. Before long, night fell, and carriage came to a stop. While the others slept, I stayed up; I found myself too anxious to sleep.

**_-Next morning_**

Arateia sat down in front of me again; the chair remained in the same spot it was when she left, the demon, Verrun, also.

"I hope our esteemed guest, didn't give you too much trouble, Verrun," Arateia mocked.

Verrun bowed its head lightly. "There were no problems, Hime-sama; however"—Verrun cleared its throat—"this one says it wishes to send a message to certain devil."

Arateia's eyes widened for a brief second, and then narrowed as she stared at me. "Which?" She said curtly, eyes still traced to mine.

Verrun bent closely to her ear and whispered; I could only guess it was mentioning Vanir. Again, Arateia's eyes widened and her brow twitched. She smiled broadly.

"Vanir," she said, closing her eyes, smile still present. "There's a name I haven't heard for a long time." She leaned forward. "Time for you talk, Satou." Her expression grew serious.

"Why should I?" I said in a defiant tone.

In a flash, Arateia slashed me across the face, spilling the largest single amount of blood she had in the entire torture; she was furious.

Grasping my face and wound tightly, she brought hers close to mine. "If you think, for a second, that I won't kill you, you're wrong."

Somehow, I could tell she wasn't bluffing; I gulped.

"What's your relationship with Vanir?" She asked quickly.

I sort of was curious as to what **her** relationship with Vanir was; Arateia seemed to me the type of person whom, while sadistic, was calculating to the extreme, this behavior seemed…emotional…almost personal.

The small silence aggravated her even more, she squeezed tighter. "Answer me!" She shouted.

"Partners!" I yelled in reply. "W-We're partners…in a contract."

"What's the contract detail?!"

"…"

She shook my face and then pressed her favorite dagger to my throat. "What's…the contract…de—"

"It's a business contract," I answered lowly.

"For what?" She asked, relieving some tension on the dagger.

"I bring him what he needs, and he'll protect me," I lied.

Arateia backed off slowly. She appeared genuinely confused for a moment as she mumbled, "protect".

"You're lying," She said quickly, stepping forward.

"I'm not!" I replied just as swiftly.

Almost on cue, a knock was heard at the door; all of us turned to look at it. Arateia and Verrun exchanged looks and then Arateia and I, she turned to face the door; once more a knock was heard at the door.

"Who is it?" Arateia said, gripping the dagger in her hand tightly.

**Part 2**

A second or two passed before the voice of a demon was heard on the other end; this one was low and raspy, however. I almost heard Arateia sigh in relief before she commanded the demon to enter. A low demon entered, bowing and then crawling all the way to Arateia's feet; it held out a piece of parchment. She took it and waved the messenger demon off. Unrolling it, she read it away from my view. After a couple of seconds, her grip on the paper tightened; a couple seconds more passed, and she closed the parchment.

"That fucker," She cursed, with a faint smile. She turned to face me. "Seems like you're right," She said, sitting back down on the chair. She tossed the paper to Verrun, who nearly missed it. "Burn it," She ordered.

Verrun bowed and left the room. At this point, my sense of surprise was impossible to hide, luckily, Arateia didn't pay it mind; whatever was on the message was more than enough to convince her my lie was a fact.

"So," She said, resting her head on her hand. "How is he?" She asked, an odd expression cropped up on her face; one of…longing?

Slightly perplexed by such an expression, I hesitated. "…uh, uh, umm"—I cleared my throat—"he's…fine?"

Arateia looked off to her side and smiled innocently; it honestly made me shiver.

"Uh," I said, nervousness filling my voice, "what exactly…do you two…have?"

Arateia stopped smiling and turned back to me. I expected her to kill me on the spot, but instead, she looked up at ceiling and closed her eyes; a couple seconds of silence went by before she spoke once more.

"He was"—Arateia's voice cracked; she quickly cleared her throat—"he was…my guardian…of sorts." She shook her head lightly as she answered.

"Guardian?" I answered instinctively; in truth, I didn't want to know more.

"Yes, guardian…Vanir served my father—and me…faithfully…"

At this moment, Arateia seemed like a normal person, her true nature, imperceptible.

"So…what was this message you wanted to send him?"

As I was about to answer, Verrun returned and answered in my place, "Whatever his message was, it seems Vanir-dono already received it, Hime-sama."

"As expected," she said, turning her attention back to me. "Satou, Vanir's asked of me something rather…difficult…in his message, but it doesn't matter; whatever I choose to do, he's already foreseen."

Arateia got up and walked up to me; she twirled the dagger in her hand playfully. I could feel myself grow tense once more, she sat with her back to me on the small set of steps before me. Whistling a melancholic tune, Arateia looked up at me; her usually sadism was back, and her twisted smile widened.

"Now, Satou, I'm in a good mood."

**_-On the road to the capital…_**

"It's been three days already Megumin; at this rate, you won't even be able to stay conscious, let alone fight," Darkness said, a mixture of worry and anger in her voice.

Due to my incessant anxiety, I haven't been able to sleep for the last three days; every day that goes by I grow more and more tense about Kazuma's condition, further fueling my unease. True to Darkness' concern, I was barely conscious as the carriage skipped along the rocky road; as much as I wanted to drift to sleep, my mind was in a constant battle with itself to keep me awake.

"There are…more…present…huh?" My mind was befuddled with weariness; I couldn't even speak properly. I shook my head furiously. "There are bigger problems," I said, correctly this time.

"Aqua, can I just knock her out?" Darkness said, turning to Aqua.

She shrugged, lying out on the length of the seat. I quickly placed my staff between me and Darkness.

"Stop!" I said, trying my best to block.

"Megumin, stop resisting; this is for your own good!" Darkness said, trying to land a clean punch.

"Stop it, Darkness!" I said, trying harder to defend against her; the trite amounts of adrenaline helped my concentration.

Finally, Darkness backed off in frustration.

"Oh, just leave her alone, Darkness," Aqua said with a yawn. "She'll get tired eventually; there's still a few days before we gotta stop anyways."

Darkness sucked her teeth in frustration and looked out the window of her side.

Minutes passed and I awoke to find myself using my staff to prop me up. I gasped loudly as my body fought to keep me awake.

"Ugh…sleep…"

I could see Darkness shoot a cursory glance over at me, before returning to the view outside.

"Megumin," Darkness said, unable to keep to herself, "please, just let me help you fall asleep." She turned to face me; her eyes were full of concern.

"For…get…it?" I shook my drowsiness free. "Forget it…your method is too aggressive; I bruise easily, Darkness."

Fumbling for words, Darkness suggested "better" ways to get me to lose consciousness. "I-I could—for instance…choke you—I could choke you softly—only until you passed out—"

I stared at her in a similar manner I stared at Kazuma whenever he did perverted things. "Please don't touch me."

Darkness edged closer, her face was still full of concern, but her hands were stretch out like when Kazuma attempts to use Drain Touch.

"No, stop it! Aqua, Aqua, Aqua help me!" I said as I stabbed at Darkness with the end of my staff.

"Enough!" Aqua yelled. "Both of you are too noisy, let me sleep! Darkness, didn't I tell you to leave her alone?!"

Darkness retreated once more; she was visibly upset as she crossed her arms. "She's going to keep waking up, Aqua, sleep is incredibly important for a young girl."

"Hey! Stop treating me like a kid!" I yelled.

"Shut up, Megumin; you **are** a kid!" Aqua retorted.

"I'm only saying that, in general, a woman should value her sleep," Darkness added.

I furrowed my brow at Aqua's comment, but I was too tired to say anything further. Silence befell the cabin and soon both Aqua and Darkness were resting; I fell asleep seemingly minutes at a time, only to wake in an alarmed state. I was starting to think that maybe I **would** take a punch from Darkness; the anxiety that I felt from Kazuma's unknown condition slowly transitioned to my own inability to sleep. This cycle continued until we stopped for the night. Aqua awoke with a yawn, causing Darkness to wake from her slumber. I was frozen in place, using my staff to half hold me up and half rest on.

"Megumin," Darkness said, sitting forward, "are you ok, did you manage to get some sleep?"

My eyes were incredibly bloodshot and dark heavy bags hung from under them; I wearily eyed Darkness without moving.

"Eris help me, Megumin, you look terrible. I mean, you still looked bad earlier, but…"

I silently opened the door to the carriage and stumbled out. I pointed my staff to the darkened sky; I wanted to Explode, but in my burn-out state I even forgot portions of the chant to my favorite spell; not that it would've mattered; I was too worn out to even channel mana. I wanted to be depressed, but I was too tired to do even that; so, I dropped my arms sharply, and then fell to my knees. I heard someone approach me from the side of the other carriages; I slowly turned my head that way.

"Hey, Megumin," a crimson-eyed loner said, pity in her eyes. "Sleep."

As I felt a warm and embracing feeling overtake me, I smiled.

_"Yunyun…you came."_

I awoke with a gasp and quickly shot up, looking around.

"So, you're finally awake?" Aqua said.

"W-Wha—" I quickly remembered what happened; Yunyun put me to sleep. I looked around and locked eyes with Yunyun who was smiling nervously beside me. I grabbed her robes. "You bastard, you put me to sleep again!" I said, pointing furiously at her.

"Yes, and you slept for three whole days," Darkness said, she was standing on my other side.

"Wha—three days?! Where—"

"We're off the main road; the carriages left a couple hours ago."

"Which means…"

"If we continue this way, we should reach the front in about four or five days," Darkness said, pointing ahead as she did.

I grabbed my staff which lay beside me and got up.

"Yunyun!" I said loudly. She stiffened at the sound of my voice. "I thought I told you not to come."

"No, you told me to go get ready…and then you left me," Yunyun replied half timidly, half angrily.

"…you took too long."

"That's…not true and you know it, Megumin!" she retorted, heatedly standing up.

I bopped her lightly on the head with my staff. "Idiot loner girl, you're just gonna get in the way." I said solemnly. Before she could reply, I started walking. "Let's go…our leader is waiting for us."

Darkness smiled as she threw a pack over her back and the other over her shoulder, Yunyun rubbed her head, and Aqua shrugged; with me leading, we went on our way.

**_-The fort…four days later_**

I breathed raggedly as Arateia got report by Verrun; it spoke quietly in her ear.

"I see," she said, mild concern on her face. She turned back to me. "Seems like our little alone time is gonna have to be cut short, Satou."

"…Heh…how unfortunate…I was looking forward…to…ugh—"

"Save it, your witty remarks are only proving to be underwhelming when you say them in such defeated tones." She turned back to Verrun. "Verrun, I'm gonna take a short rest; keep an eye on this one, if he still has enough strength to be witty, there may still be some fight in him."

Verrun bowed. "Of course, Hime-sama."

Arateia left the room.

Verrun turned to me; these past days, it always stood in same spot it appeared, never moving from it; today was no different.

After some silence (save for my heavy breathing), it spoke, "I'm quite amazed, human; to think that a weak creature like you has resisted Hime-sama's methods."

I wanted to say, "Yeah, so am I" but I felt that would betray how close I was to breaking.

"Hey," I said, my breaths were starting to level out. "You like rare things…right?"

Verrun stared at me curiously, but cautiously. "What's it to you?" it said.

"In my bag, there's a rare item; it's a one-of-a-kind item that was meant to be a tribute to the Demon King, I want you to have it in exchange for being…kind to me."

"Kind?"

"Well…not bad."

"…what is this gift, what does it do?"

"It's something called a 'Manawick'."

Verrun stepped forward; curiosity filled its face, "A…Manawick?" it repeated.

"Yeah, it's supposed to release mana slowly…over time."

Curiosity piqued, Verrun reached for my bag and opened it.

"Take one only," I said. "It's a red stick."

Verrun looked through the satchel, finally pulling out all the "Manawicks", six in total.

"Hey, I said one."

It smiled deviously as it dropped my satchel; Verrun stared curiously at the item.

"How does one activate it?" it asked.

"You see the wick at the top?" I explained, nodding towards the top. "You light it—wait-wait-wait!" I yelled as Verrun was about to light it with a fire spell.

It stared curiously at me.

"Wait…you don't want to do it here, do you? Lighting that many sticks at once could have adverse effects."

"How so?" Verrun's eyes narrowed; I was beginning to believe it might suspect something was odd.

"Do you really want to give me mana?" I said, there was hint of downplayed nervousness.

Verrun looked at the item bundled in its hands, and then picked one out. Placing it close to me, it lit the wick.

"Wai-Wai—what are you doing?!" I said, nervousness-abound.

"Shouldn't be a problem if it's just one, should it?" Verrun said; for the first time I could see a toothy smile on its face as it held the lit dynamite to my face.

As the wick burned lower and lower, I felt what little energy I had evaporate; nearing its end, I closed my eyes, and prepared for my own; at least, I'll be done with this torture. Seconds passed and nothing was heard; I opened one eye. Verrun held a wickless dynamite stick in its hand, but it hadn't exploded; it was a dud.

"Hmm?" the demon stared curiously at the stick. "Interesting, it gives off a smoky aroma. Yes…this is something I've never seen. I shall present these to hime-sama at once; these will certainly help with the amount of mana she has been consuming over the past few days." It turned its gaze to me. "Please stay put."

With that, Verrun turned and quickly headed out of the room. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Five sticks of dynamite were now on their way to Arateia's room where (if things went my way) they would be lit and explode killing her and Verrun at once; this went far better than I could've ever hoped. Initially, my plan was to have Verrun light one and kill itself in the process; just one was enough to cause Wolbach serious harm, and she was a General. I quickly thought about how I was going to escape the madness that I was in.

Seconds later, I dropped to floor as I heard a massive explosion breakout several floors above me. I smiled weakly as I struggled to my feet; the plan worked wonderfully; finally, my luck was starting to show itself. I grabbed my satchel and attempted to stand, but quickly fell once more; it's been some time since I stood…ate…moved; I couldn't stand, let alone run.

_"Dammit!"_

I, with tremendous effort, staggered to my feet. Propping myself up using one of the torture tables nearby, I began to slowly take steps. It hurt…it hurt a lot…it hurt a lot to do anything, to walk, to stand, to breathe.

_"Lurk's not gonna be enough here; Concealment will, but it'll start draining me really quick…I gotta move fast, if I wanna get outta here."_

Steeling my resolve, I activated Concealment and moved quickly through the corridors; my body was screaming at me as I did, but I grit my teeth in defiance. As I traveled through the tight corridors, many demons ran past me towards the sound of the explosion earlier; some even stopped and momentarily stared in my direction, though Concealment was basically invisibility, it couldn't mask scents, so, an animal or creature with a good sense of smell could still pick me out. Luckily, they were more concerned with the previous disturbance to investigate me.

I reached the courtyard of the fort and dashed towards the ramparts; (the gate was my first choice, but obviously, it was closed) I would have to jump, climbing down would be too slow. As I ran up the side stairs towards the ramparts, two demons stood watching out towards the battlefield; Concealment failed as my stamina ran dry. The two demons turned around as they noticed my presence.

"Drain Touch!" I yelled; I put my all into it and within seconds, the two unsuspecting demons collapsed.

With my stamina renewed, I quickly looked over the ramparts; large spikes below, though they wouldn't have impaled me if I jumped, falling on those would've still been fatal. I activated Lurk, and then quickly changed my plans; I'll create a quick zipline. Anchoring the grappling arrow to the top of the rampart, I attached the other end to an arrow.

_"A normal shot won't penetrate deep enough; it'll break as soon as I jump on it, but maybe using Snipe will."_

Leaving little choice, I used Snipe and watched as the arrow buried itself almost completely into the ground; I gave it a quick tug, it was fairly taut.

"Here goes everything," I said to myself.

I jumped, using my short blade to guide me down. Seconds later, I hit the ground with a thud; though my stamina returned, I was still incredibly injured. My body was working on overdrive as I tried to get out of the fort, but now that I was in seemingly less danger, the pain came back tenfold. Tears formed as I rolled in the ground in anguish; after a few seconds, I pushed myself to get moving. I quickly withdrew my rope and began running as fast as I could; Lurk was still active, so it would be difficult for any pursuers to find me.

Suddenly, a loud bell rang from the fort; I could hear an uproar within its walls, but I paid it little mind. I didn't know how far the frontlines would be, but my best bet for survival would be to make it across. I ran so much: I ran until my legs failed me, until my lungs cried out, until my eyesight (nearly) failed me; I ran until my heart nearly burst from my chest. When I reached this point, I could finally see the battlefield; I was still incredibly faraway, but I could see the fighting taking place. All I needed now, was to get to the other side, but…I was beyond spent; I was broken.

I pushed myself beyond what I was capable of, and now, I was paying for it. Even if I wanted to move, I couldn't; I lay face down in the dirt as I clawed my way forward. After several minutes of this, I finally stopped; it was too much. My body was angry at me, and my brain could no longer hold back the tide of pain that crashed against every inch of my being. As the pain came, I didn't scream; not because I was used to it, or grew tolerant, but I was too tired, too drained to even do something so primal.

Times passed, I don't know how much; minutes, hours—to my knowledge—perhaps even days, but eventually, I heard someone walk up to me; my eyes were closed, and I couldn't open them, I was still far too exhausted. "It's him….I know him….Yes….She wants him back…" I could hear this unknown person speaking, but the voice was ambiguous; all I could hear were muffled sounds with my slow heartbeat overlaid. "Take him," they said. I could feel my body being moved and placed onto something, and then feel a piece of fabric thrown on top of me.

I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I was in some sort of wagon; the sensation and rocking was familiar to me. "Quickly!" I heard the voice shout. "We must reach the fort!"

_"Ah, the fort…so they caught me…I'm going back to hell."_

**_-Meanwhile…_**

I stared at the paper in my hands once more, and then looked up at Iris. "You said you received this anonymously?"

Iris nodded. "I received that a day ago; it said Kazuma onii-sama was going to be on the battlefield near the Demon Army's fort."

Looking at the message once again, I could tell this message was written by nonother than Vanir. I handed it back to Iris.

Darkness spoke. "Iris-sama, did you dispatch anyone to confirm what the message says? For all we know, it could—"

"It's true," I said, cutting Darkness off.

She turned to look at me. "How can you be so sure?"

Yunyun stepped forward and answered. "I-I think it's true, Darkness-san."

Now looking bewildered, Darkness posed the question once more. "Ok, but…how do you—"

"We know who wrote the letter," I interjected.

Darkness stood up from kneeling and turned to me. "Who wrote the letter?" She asked in an almost demanding tone.

"Doesn't matter," I replied sharply. "It's someone we can trust…somewhat."

"This could be a ploy—it could be a trick to lure—"

"Lalatina-chan, it's fine," Iris interrupted. "I trust their judgement."

Having been told by Iris, Darkness withdrew her suspicions.

Aqua spoke up; she was seated at a nearby table sipping tea. "So, when are we gonna go kick some demon butt? I've traveled for days just for this, and all we've done is sit about talking…not that I mind too much."

Darkness placed her palm on her head. "Aqua, please, you're in the presence of Iris-sama; show some respect."

Aqua looked from behind her teacup and frowned.

Pulling me aside, Yunyun asked, "Why didn't you just tell Darkness-san that it was Vanir?"

I snatched my arm from her and replied. "Sure, let me just say that Vanir has the power of clairvoyance because he's the Devil of Foresight."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Yunyun whispered angrily.

"Not like it matters anyways, what matters is that we know where Kazuma **is** or will be; we have to get there first." I retorted.

"The battlefield is a highly dangerous place, Megumin-nee," Iris explained. "Even I'm not allowed to go."

I turned to Iris. "We're practically on the front already; isn't this fort near the lines?"

"Hmm, this is true, Hime-sama," Darkness said. "I'm surprised Claire hasn't showed up to take you back to the capital."

Iris gave an innocent smile, and then turned slightly away from us. "Claire-chan has tried…but I've gotten permission from my father."

"The King?!" Darkness said in full surprise. "How, if I may ask?"

"I told him someone incredibly important to me and the country was going to be captured by the Demon King's forces and I wanted to be here when they returned."

"It's not good to jump the gun," Aqua said loudly. She took another sip of tea.

Darkness shot her a damning look while Iris smiled.

"I can tell Kazuma onii-sama will be back; Father and Jatis onii-chan are both on the front as we speak," Iris continued.

"Hmm, if the prince and king are both on the frontlines then there's little to worry about," Darkness finalized.

"Even if that's the case," I said, "I'm not about to sit back and wait. I need someone to protect me while I do my thing; Darkness, come."

Darkness raised a brow and then sighed. "While I'm not opposed to protecting you, Megumin, the way you order me around…it's quite"—she squirmed a little—"quite…ahem, it's quite disparaging."

"Wait, Megumin," Yunyun said, jumping in front of me. "What about me?"

"Huh, what **about** you?"

Yunyun looked as if she was on the verge of tears. "I-I came this way to help you, you know!"

I looked away offhandedly. "I never asked you to come."

Yunyun instantly grabbed my robe and shook me furiously. "How can you so cold to your oldest fr—rival?!" She said, sobbing as she did.

After prying myself free, I straightened my robe. "Where we're going there'll be a lot of scary demons; I can't have a crybaby like you freezing up every time one—"

"M-Megumin's no different!" She yelled.

"Huh?! Don't compare me to you! I have no qualms about blowing demons up," I retorted.

"Neither do I," Aqua said walking up beside me and Darkness. "Let's go do what we came here to do, kill some demons—"

"You mean rescue Kazuma," Darkness corrected.

"Right…rescue Kazuma, that's what I said." Aqua replied, sticking her chest out pompously.

"Then, I suppose I'll join you," Iris said from behind us.

Darkness quickly turned around, "Hime-sama, please recon—"

"If I'm with you, Lalatina-chan, I have no worries," Iris replied diplomatically.

"Eh, I'm flattered you would prize my ability to protect you so highly, Iris-sama; however—"

"We're wasting time, Darkness; if the princess wants to come along, then let her," I said. "She has two Crimson Demons, an Archpriest, and a Crusader as her guard; how much more defended can she be?"

Giving it some thought, Darkness sighed heavily. "Under normal circumstances you'd be right…but I wouldn't exactly call our team…dependable."

"Maybe you," I said, poking my staff at her. "And maybe Yunyun." I teased, thereafter.

"Hey!" She shouted.

"Worry not," Iris said. "Lalatina, if it gets too dangerous, I'll retreat; is that ok?"

Darkness rubbed her forehead and sighed once more. "I suppose it should be ok; although, I don't know how the king would feel about this." Her expression turning serious as she said.

"Don't worry about Father, if need be, I'll speak with him regarding the matter." Iris reassured.

"So, it's settled then," I said. Gripping my staff tightly, my eyes began to glow. "I got a bone to pick with that Demon King's daughter. She'll rue the day she picked a fight with the genius of the Crimson Demons, Megumin."

"Oh, to see you so fired up, Megumin; you must really want to blow her up something serious," Aqua said as we began to walk.

"To be honest, it doesn't really take much to make Megumin want to blow something up," Yunyun added.

"Yeah, all you have to be is open air and you qualify," Darkness teased.

Everyone laughed but me; the truth to their statements, hurt.

**Part 3**

I awoke to find myself in a bed; wrappings covered large areas of my body. As I looked around, I quickly deduced that I was in some sort of ward; a quick assessment of my condition revealed that I was—for the most part—healed. While someone **did **heal me, I could still feel minor pain and discomfort from movement; it was the sort of thing that was alien to me; when Aqua healed me, I felt completely normal, almost as if I was reverted to a "zero" state. I sat up and pulled back the white curtains surrounding most of the bed; off to my side, sat a familiar face, with her head drooped, sleeping; it was one of Iris's bodyguards, Rain.

Almost as if she reacted to my stare, Rain woke up; she rubbed her eyes drowsily.

"Rain?" I said in apprehension.

She quickly snapped out of her weariness. "Kazuma-dono, you're awake."

"Where am I?"

"You're in the fort by the frontlines."

"Fort…so it was you guys?" I sighed in relief. "For a second, I thought I was recaptured."

"Recaptured…so you were a prisoner?"

"Yeah…" I shook my head free of the terrible memories. "Still can't believe I made it out of there…anyways, if you're here, it means that—"

"Iris-sama isn't here," Rain replied sort of bluntly.

"?"

"She apparently departed some time ago with your companions in tow."

"What?!" I facepalmed. _"Dammit, they're probably off to try and rescue me…shit, this bad."_

"Claire-sama departed as well…to think the king himself would give this much leeway to the princess." Rain said, sighing like a doting mother.

"Did you heal me, Rain?" I asked as moved to the edge of the bed.

"Uh, well, no; we had a priest tend to you. Kazuma-dono, you were in a terrible state when you arrived; most of us thought the soldiers brought back a corpse."

"Can I get a shirt?" I asked as I examined myself.

"Uh, yes…one moment." Rain stood up and quickly went to nearby cabinet, moments later she returned with a plain shirt.

"Ugh…guess this'll have to do," I said dejectedly; I was beginning to get used to the feeling of finer clothing.

"I apologize, Kazuma-dono, seeing as this is a fort, the availability of fine clothing isn't exactly abundant," Rain said in a somewhat agitated tone.

I threw on the shirt and tested it; it was a bit loose on me and itched somewhat, but overall it would do.

"It's fine," I answered as I got up.

"Kazuma-dono, I highly advise against moving around too much; although the healing took care of your injuries, your body itself isn't really in top shape."

"Hey, I work out from time to time—"

"That's not what I mean, I mean Healing magic just speeds recovery up using mana as a medium, but natural ailments in the body aren't affected."

As she said this, I could feel myself grow tired and frail; the realization that I had almost nothing to eat or drink throughout the last week and a half just dawned on me. I sat back down and reexamined myself; I began to notice the amount of weight I had lost in such time and understood that was the reason the shirt fit loosely on me.

"Even if you say that, I can't exactly just wait while they're out there looking for me…right?" I said, looking for assurance.

Rain stared at me with honest eyes. "In your condition I don't really know what you'd be able to accomplish except be larger burden on them, Kazuma-dono."

The brevity of her answer pained me, but she was right.

I sighed deeply, and then stood back up. "I never did my best work fighting, but I know if I let them do things their way, it won't work out; all those girls are good at doing is making a bigger mess of things."

Rain gave a me a brief smile, and then exhaled. "Well then, Kazuma-dono, I'll at least accompany you to the front; I can't leave Claire-sama and Iris-sama alone."

"Hey, don't worry, I don't intend to get involved; this isn't really my fight, but I feel like if I just let them go looking for a me who isn't there, if something were to happen, I'd feel guilty."

"Hmm, so that's the story you're going for?" Rain said with a smirk.

"Yeah…that's the story I'm going for," I replied as we walked out into the courtyard.

**_-On the edge of the battlefield; Capital-side…_**

"There's the king's tent," Darkness said, pointing in the distance.

"I don't believe Father will be in it though," Iris informed.

"We're not here to talk to the king," I interjected. "Focus on our objective."

"Oh, what's this, where has our little Megumin gone?" Aqua mocked. "Where has she learned to be so commanding?"

Iris smiled and timidly covered her mouth; I thoroughly ignored the both of them.

"There," I said, pointing to a distant hill. "If I can get up on that hill, I can land a good Explosion."

"Hey Megumin, you **do** know there are capital forces mixed in there, right? They're likely to get caught up in the crossfire." Yunyun said, giving a straight-man answer.

"Humph, did you really think I didn't account for that (I actually didn't)? I'll aim for the back of the Demon King's army after you guys give a signal to withdraw. Using that opportunity, we can break through the lines and reach the other side to rescue Kazuma."

"Not bad, quite impressive coming from Megumin," Darkness said. "Except, how exactly are we going to signal for a retreat; only commanders have the right to do so."

"I can signal for the withdraw," Iris interjected.

"Hime-sama—"

"I'll give a signal, it'll be unmistakable; I'll inform Father and Jatis onii-chan."

"This isn't a good idea; we're affecting the flow of battle by doing this," Darkness said worriedly.

I smirked proudly and flicked my cape. "The flow of battle was decided once I arrived."

Aqua gave a stifled giggle, while Yunyun looked thoroughly impressed by my announcement; in the background, Darkness shook her head in disbelief and Iris smiled innocently.

"Ok, Iris, I'll leave the signal to you. Darkness, on me; Yunyun, help Aqua open up a path."

They all nodded, and we went off on our way. As we ran towards the battlefield, I grasped my staff tightly; truth be told, I was incredibly scared, powerful monsters and demons stood between us and the hill; avoiding all of them would be impossible, I would have to rely thoroughly on the others. Not soon after, we were in the thick of it; adventurers and knights fought bravely against the opposing demons and monsters while we ran past as many as possible. Those that did get in our way were quickly dealt with by the powerful dual-magic duo, Aqua and Yunyun.

Finally, after a lot of running and fighting, we reached the edge of the battle once more.

"Darkness!" I yelled.

"I'll hold the bottom of the hill, go!" She shouted back, bracing herself against the demons that broke from the battle.

Yunyun and Aqua protected her flanks while I advanced up the hill. Once at the top, I looked back towards the battlefield looking for Iris' signal; seconds later, a massive bright light shot towards the sky before exploding brilliantly.

_"Eh, that must be it…why must it look so much like an explosion though?"_

The thought kind of irked me, but I began to aim my spell and chant.

"SATOU!" someone yelled from the Demon Army's side. I stopped my chant and squinted my eyes; in the ensuing chaos, I could make her out…my enemy…the daughter of the Demon King, Arateia.

"There you are," I said lowly. Turning my attention to the others below me, I yelled, "The Demon King's daughter is here; change of plans!"

Yunyun glanced back. "Megumin, what do you mean, 'change of plans'?!"

I wanted her…I wanted her to feel the power of my Explosion; how dare she pull a fast one on me. I aimed at her and began to chant once more.

"Wait, Megumin!" Darkness yelled. "Their forces are rallying on her; if you use Explosion now, you'll kill innocent people as well!"

I sucked my teeth and stopped chanting.

"We can use this opportunity to sneak away and reach the backlines!" Darkness informed. "Our original objective still stands, right?!"

I frowned at the thought of leaving my target behind, but Darkness was right, Kazuma's rescue had to come first; I begrudgingly nodded. As I was heading down the hill, an arrow shot past me; I stopped and quickly looked in the direction it was fired.

_"An enemy shot? No—it came from the capital side…this arc—it was shot from very far—had to come from someone with…Farsight? Kazuma?"_

I squinted once more to get a good look. Another arrow shot clear past me; though it surprised me, the fact that it missed by such a wide margin meant the shooter was either very bad or missing on purpose.

_"Comparing the first shot…they missed…on purpose; they shot the first one closer intentionally."_

Again, I squinted to get a better look, but I couldn't really make any detail out at the distance.

"Megumin!" Darkness yelled from below. "What are you waiting for, now's our chance!"

"Someone, someone shot an arrow from over there!" I yelled back, pointing in the direction.

"Could be anyone or anything!"

"It came from the friendly side!"

"At this distance, do you really think they can make you out?!"

Darkness had a point, though Farsight was an Archer special skill, the bow was not; most frontline classes could use one even if it wasn't effectively. As I thought about it, another arrow landed by my foot; on its end was the amulet I made for everyone. I untied it and picked it up slowly; I breathed heavily, clenching it tightly in my hand. Tears brimmed before I quickly wiped them away.

"It's Kazuma!" I yelled back down to the others.

"What—how?!" Darkness retorted, while fending off attacks from additional monsters.

"I don't know, but its him!"

After Yunyun and Aqua finished off the monsters, Darkness yelled back to me, "We need to find a way to get back to the capital side!"

"You guys go! I'll set up for a big one, just give me an opening and I'll make sure that bitch goes down!"

Half surprised by vulgarity, Darkness nodded and took off with Yunyun and Aqua in tow.

"Now then," I said, looking back towards Arateia, "where were we?"

**_-Frontlines; Capital side…_**

"I think she got the message," I said, lowering my bow. "But…I think we have bigger issues now."

I gulped as I drew sight on Arateia; she looked quite injured but considering the amount of power the dynamite must've released, it was impressive that she was even alive.

"Shit!" I cursed, remembering Arateia's effect. "If she's here…then magic shouldn't work."

"Huh?" Rain, who was beside me said perplexedly.

"She has this effect of—"

"Tinder." A fire blazed from her palm. "Seems to work fine," She said.

"Huh, maybe we're too far; I was sure—wait…_she's been hunting relics…could it be…was it the effect from a one? If it is...why'd it suddenly stop now?_"

"SATOU!" Arateia yelled out again.

The demon forces suddenly stopped in unison and retreated some steps behind their commander. The capital forces stood their ground, but slowly made way for an imposing figure; the King of Belzerg stepped forward; his son, the Prince, was not far behind.

"Belzerg," Arateia said with a wry smirk. She opened a dark portal and withdrew the large axe, Ognir's Wedge.

"You finally showed yourself," the King said.

He was—as said before—an imposing figure fully clad in an aquamarine armor with gold trimming. His face was one of a wise, but powerful man; he bore a faded yellow mane of hair that draped over the front of his armor while a golden crown sat tightly upon his head. He stood as a massive sentinel before the tiny Arateia, his greatsword was plunged cleanly into the earth; despite this it was almost as tall as him.

"I am, Lionel Stylish Sword Belzerg, King of the Kingdom of Belzerg. Put down your arms and surrender, if you do, I will—"

"Like Hell I will, you old man," Arateia replied dryly. "You think because you have the blood of the hero coursing through your veins that makes you strong. Humph, go fuck yourself."

The Prince, Jatis, stepped forward and withdrew his blade in one motion, pointing it at Arateia he yelled, "You will die for insolence, you damn wench!"

The Prince, while not as imposing as his father, still held an authoritative aura to him. He was a handsome man with similar physical features many nobles had, blonde hair and blue eyes. He sported a matching set of armor as his father and wore a circlet with tiny tassels and a large sapphire in the center.

"I could care less about you lot; your deaths can come later. I want the adventurer known to you as Satou Kazuma; bring him to me and I'll withdraw my forces," Arateia negotiated.

The King stood silent, closing his eyes to think.

"That won't be possible," Iris said as she stepped through the lines of her men, sword drawn.

The King cast an unassuming glance at her; he pulled the massive sword from the ground with one hand, and the smiled.

"My daughter has spoken," he said. "Her words are my own."

Arateia smiled as if completely pleased by their rejection. "Fine by me, when all of you lie dead at my feet, there'll be no one to stop me."

The three royals of the Belzerg line quickly surrounded Arateia and held their weapons ready. What was about to occur would be a clash of titans; both armies retreated hastily as they knew what was about to ensue. Whatever powers were going to be unleashed in this battle was likely to destroy swathes of both sides.

As I stood looking in awe at the legendary scene in front of me, a familiar voice came from my side.

"Seems like I was a bit too late," The voice of an uptight knight named, Claire, said. "I hope you know the trouble you're causing Iris-sama and the kingdom." She said with frustration bordering anger.

I waved her off and watched intently.

Arateia smiled as the three began to slowly circle around her, her eyes focusing on each one that passed into her sight. In an instant, they were upon her; blades smashed against the surface of the axe in an almost rhythmic fashion as Arateia parried every strike. Despite her opponents being the royal family of a warrior line, she showed deftness to match their own. After knocking them out of rhythm, Arateia shot towards Iris who still in the process of recovering her posture and swung down her axe with all her might.

In a flash, Jatis deflected the strike while the King swept under it and blocked. Almost without a moment's thought, Iris rushed between the two men who defended for her and slashed, yelling, "Exterion".

In a single motion, Arateia withdrew her dagger and yelled, "Vorpal Slash" as she aimed downwards, causing her to flip over Iris' attack. In the same frame, Arateia disappeared through a dark portal and appeared behind Jatis attempting to smash the backend of the axe into him. The King pushed him out of the way and blocked with his entire body braced against the massive greatsword, the axe's flat edge smashed into it; the force knocking the King off his feet and flinging him back some meters away.

Arateia smiled sadistically, she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

As she landed, the Prince stepped in and slashed with a speed unseen. Arateia dodged, but only just; a small gash appearing across her nose. Both darted back and concealed by her brother, Iris stepped forward; she jumped off his shoulder and thrust her blade forward. Arateia—who was recovering from her last movement—quickly shifted her weight to the side and deflected using her dagger.

"You're open," Iris said as she drifted past her.

Arateia's eyes widened as she realized her back was exposed. The King, who had recovered, swept in low and, with speed unbefitting a man his age, swung his blade. Arateia threw herself back over the King saving herself from being hewn in two; however, Jatis was swiftly upon her once more. He came down with the intent to impale her to the ground, but Arateia rolled out of the way and kicked herself off the ground. She slowly backed way; sticking her arm out, the axe rematerialized in her hand.

"Neat trick," Jatis said mockingly.

"You like that? Here, I'll show a next one," Arateia retorted with a grin.

**_-Back on the hill_**

_"What's going on out there? I thought I told them to give me an opening, not have Iris start fighting."_

As I stared out in the distance, I could see a detachment of demons coming towards the hill.

_"Damn, not good; I won't have anyone to defend me here. Where did the others run off to?"_

"Oi!" I heard someone yell out; the voice sounded familiar.

I looked in the direction and saw three adventurers running towards me.

"Oi, so it **is** you; the crazy explosive loli with the weird name."

"Hey—ah, wait, it's…ummm…uhhh—"

"Rex, it's Rex, don't act like you don't remember me!"

"Ah, right Rex-san; what are you doing here?"

"Ah, yeah, some girls told me to come to this hill to protect a mage; didn't think it would be you—come to think of it, there was another Crimson Mage with that party who told us; think it was that other girl that used to hang out with you."

"Huh, I don't know who you're talking about, but whatever, right now that's irrelevant. I figure my companions went off to create a distraction; once they do, I'm gonna blow the battlefield to pieces. Lucky for you, you get a front-row seat to watch it happen."

"Eh, I don't know if I would count us lucky; that last Explosion you did is still engrained in my memory."

I smiled at the thought of knowing my Explosion instilled a sense of awe-inspiring fear. "Well, there's some demons coming this way."

"Say no more; we'll defend you," Rex said and headed towards the base of the hill with Terry and Sophie.

I would've thought their encounter with the Higher Demon known as "Hoot" would've put them off fighting demons for good, but it seems they were braver than I initially gave them credit for. I looked back towards the fight and could see a worrying scene.

**_-The battlefield…_**

The three royals knelt gasping as Arateia walked towards them with her axe hung over her shoulder.

"What a nice sight," she said mockingly. "Belzerg royal family knelt before me like the petulant dogs they are."

"H-How…did you acquire—" Jatis began to say before being interrupted.

"How did I acquire the relics; don't be so stupid, I took them—off corpses who no longer needed them! The Ring of Devotion…it has such a wonderful effect, don't you think; full compliance."

She stopped before them and began to raise her axe.

"Stop!" Darkness yelled, running between Arateia and her targets. Aqua and Yunyun stood behind the royal family.

"Ah, perfect timing; the dog of the dogs." Arateia stuck her palm out towards Darkness. "Cursed Inspire: Dark Murmurs."

The next instant, Darkness fell to the ground clutching her heart. Iris stepped forward weakly and grabbed Darkness.

"Lalatina—what did you do to her?!" Iris yelled with a tone that was alien to her.

"Let's see how loyal the Shield of the Kingdom truly is," Arateia said with a smirk.

"Sacred High—"

Arateia quickly placed the axe over Iris' head. "You do anything, and I'll mince them to the point you can't resurrect them."

Aqua instantly stepped back; she glared with murderous intent.

"Now then," Arateia said to Darkness. "Let it out, let it all out; you don't have to hold back anymore."

With these words, blackened veins spread slowly through Darkness' visible patches of skin and the tint of her Crusader armor began to turn a shadowy grey.

"Accept it," Arateia encouraged.

Darkness struggled to her feet, casting Iris off her in the process. Turning to face the now astonished princess, she raised her blade and held it above her head. Everyone in attendance struggled to defend Iris but found themselves unable to move.

"Iris…sama…please…stop…me," Darkness said, seemingly fighting against her actions; the transformative features halting as she did.

"Tch, why do you resist it? I can sense the anguish in you; give in to it and attain the power needed to take what you want," Arateia instructed.

Darkness slowly brought the blade lower; tears filled her eyes as the young royal stared blankly at the slowly descending blade; though she could've easily moved out of the way, Iris remained under its threat.

"Iris-sama…PLEASE!" Darkness yelled in agony of her actions.

"Oi! Darkness!" I yelled.

"Kazuma?" Darkness said in surprise; her actions continuing.

Arateia kept her eyes trained on the scene before her. "…Satou; you finally decided to show up."

Although I was keeping a low-profile due to Rain's advice, the effects of Arateia's relic rendered both, Claire and her unable to move; oddly enough, out of everyone around us, me, Aqua, and Yunyun were the only ones capable of moving freely.

"Darkness…are you that weak?" I said mockingly. "Are you that weak to let someone tease such creepy feelings you have for me from you?"

Darkness twitched as I said such embarrassing words. "Cree-Creepy?!" she said, the blade's descent slowing down.

"Ah, I understand you find me incredibly irresistible, Darkness, that you want to sneak into my room every—"

"K-K-Kazuma, please—not here—not with the royal family present!" Darkness yelled out; her voice and actions conflicting in every way possible.

As I continued to embellish Darkness' feelings for me, the attention shifted from me to Darkness who was now dazed from the pleasure of being completely and utterly humiliated in front of so many people. She let go of her sword and fell on all fours shaking in excitement, a questionably lewd smile plastered across her face. Even Arateia watched in confusion at what was unfolding.

"Now!" I yelled.

Taking the moment, the King, shot forward and swung his greatsword with such a ferocity that it cut cleanly through the wind. He yelled, "Sacred Judgement: Blade Fall!". Catching Arateia completely by surprise, the blade connected with her stomach smashing her armor and sending her careening through the air back towards the demon line. Almost instantly, the effects of the Divine Relic were nullified and the oppressive aura that affected nearly everyone was dispelled.

Jatis shot forward to follow up the attack but the King stopped him, looking towards the hill. Prince Jatis stared in the same direction as his father and stepped back.

"All forces…fall back!" he yelled. "Everyone, retreat!"

I turned towards the hill and using Farsight, could see Megumin holding up her staff; the mana orb at the end of the staff glowed with an intensity I've never seen before. Seconds later my greatest fear was realized as a gargantuan magic circle, several hundred meters in size, opened beneath our feet; it was centered on Arateia (who was still flying high into the air) but reached far into the capital's side.

I stared wide-eyed in disbelief. _"What the hell is this explosive idiot thinking?!"_ As I stood stunned, Yunyun quickly tugged on the arm of my shirt. "Kazuma-san, come on!"

"Huh—oh, right."

We ran for our lives and somehow made it out of the range of the circle; moments later, a brilliant flash engulfed the area accompanied by the thundering sound of an explosion. Though we were out of range, the shockwave tore through the lines, knocking several of us to our backs. I stood up, staring at the fireball shrink in the distance.

_"You damn explosive loli…heh, good job; 99 points."_

**Part 4**

As we all stared off at the destruction that laid waste to the near-entirety of the Demon Army, I could hear a couple adventurers and soldiers say some flag-worthy lines like, 'there's no way she could've survived that', 'It's finally over', and 'there's no coming back from something like that'; I felt my stomach turn. As the capital forces cheered, a red-haired loli emerged from the crater, axe over her shoulder; Arateia was alive. Her armor was practically gone and what little spots of clothing she had left were heavily singed. Her body was covered in large spots of blood and burns, but remarkably, she was still alive and standing. Most importantly though, the attack seemed to have rendered whatever relics she possessed, inoperable.

"Well, well," she said calmly. Arateia tossed a cursory glance over her shoulder towards the hill before looking back at me. "This is why I hate Crimson Demons…still…with that much mana poured into an attack, there's no way she's standing; I'll make sure to deal with her last."

All of us stared in complete disbelief at what just transpired; to take that much damage and still be able to live, let alone move. The Belzerg royal family quickly stirred to prepared for the inevitable second clash.

"Impressive," the King said as he held his sword at ready. "Truly…you live up to your standing as the Demon King's daughter."

Arateia gave a light smile. "I grow tired of this; my army lies in ruins, but it just means I can have all of you to myself." She pointed the end of her axe towards the Belzergs.

"Quit your bluff!" Jatis retorted. "You've sustained mortal wounds; you're not long for this world, wench!"

Arateia grinned and started walking forward. "One thing I'm happy about my lineage is…the closer we're to death…the more alive we feel!" She darted forward with incredible speed, her axe smashing hard against the Prince's last-second guard; he was sent bowling into the soldiers and adventures behind him. The next instant she slashed into the lines of soldiers and friendlies going in a frenzy, her attacks quickly switching between heavy swings of her axe and quickly darting slashes with daggers; the erratic movement between her choice of targets made it difficult for the Belzergs to intercept.

Arateia laughed sadistically as she tore and smashed her way through the capital forces; their blood and screams fueling her frenzy with more fervor. As I stared in shock at the traumatic events unfolding before me, I could see Aqua quickly running over to different bodies and performing heals and resurrections; she looked like a true goddess. And despite being covered in blood, she held a stoic and angry look as she toiled desperately to save as many lives as possible.

**_-The hill…_**

As I stumbled to my feet, I could feel my rage begin to boil over. She was hurting my friends. After I hit her with my explosion magic, she should've died, but there she was…still alive…as a big a threat as ever. My greatest attack—my only attack…thwarted. Was I really that useless? All the effort I put into making sure my explosions would kill in one strike…defeated by this one enemy…the Daughter of the Demon King, Arateia.

I gripped my staff tightly as I watched the carnage she unfolded. Iris and the royal family were the only ones capable of trading blows with her, Darkness was doing her best to protect as many people as she could, Aqua was healing and reviving those in need, and Kazuma kept his distance, shouting orders and taking shots when necessary. Never did she look back at me, the one who hit her with the strongest attack spell known to man; she didn't even consider me a threat.

Judging by how she shouted Kazuma's name, and how desperately she fought to reach him, I could only guess Arateia's objective was the capture or death of Kazuma…she was getting closer with every passing moment. I clenched my staff tighter until it hurt; I began trembling in anger. To ignore me, the genius of the Crimson Mages, the greatest enemy of the Demon King, the Master of Explosions…for her to turn her back to me…for her to go after my friends…for her…for her…to exist; my anger reached fever-pitch.

I would show her, make her an example—for all to see—the genius, the greatest, the most powerful Crimson Demon was more than a threat. Moments after I thought this, unknown symbols filled my view, they appeared to be the same as the ones in the village, the ones present on sealed areas.

These symbols scrolled through my sight for a couple of seconds before ceasing entirely. A second later, I could feel myself grow light and mind go blank; I felt like a stranger in my own body. An explosive burst of mana coursed through my frame nearly drowning me in its ecstasy. My sight shifted to Arateia and I could feel the rage begin to consume me; I would give her a taste of true power.

My staff was rendered useless due to my previous attack which meant this next attack would be at half its full strength. I would give it my all—everything—I will give it absolutely everything I have; let those in attendance bare witness. I felt odd…unlike myself…I felt unshackled, like my true potential was finally unlocked…I felt…awakened. I raised my arm and pointed an open palm at Arateia, still she ignored me, continuing her rampage in the distance.

**_-The battlefield…_**

A moment later, an incredible amount of mana tore through the sky as lightning blotted the battlefield. We turned towards the origin of such staggering power. At the top of the distant hill, Megumin stood with her arm out; the mana that shot into the sky earlier, shrunk and condensed around her, excess mana flared like the bands of a churning star. Everyone on the battlefield (Arateia included) stopped and stared in complete shock & awe at the biblical levels of mana present.

Aqua, who stood by me, stared wide-eyed at what was unfolding. She slowly turned to face me. "Kazuma," she said slowly, "this is, this is god-tier levels of…there's so much mana."

"W-What's going on?" I asked her nervously.

Aqua turned back to stare at the hill and answered softly. "I don't know what's about to happen…but I'll try my best to make sure we don't all die."

Even I could tell, what came next would be unlike anything **any** of us ever witnessed. Even Arateia, who was lashing out across the battlefield moments earlier, found herself drawn to the curiosity in the distance.

**[Megumin]** "Now you see me," I said apathetically. As I pointed my palm at the Demon King's daughter, I began to chant an unknown spell:

"Ruler and deity of destruction, I beseech you. Hear my call and render unto my enemy complete annihilation. Let those present bear witness to the cries of rage; combine with my deep crimson and grant me thine power. I am thine herald, I am thine avatar; let us bring forth ruin and blacken this earth. Demon Art: Magic Modification: Explosion Alteration…

I closed my palm as I cried out. IMPLOSION!"

**[Kazuma]** An unnatural wind swept across the battlefield and quickly coalesced around Arateia—who was looking around confused—A second later, the wind pressed against her tightly; she dropped to her knees as if bound. Though the force was invisible, its effects, were not. The force continued to rapidly increase, crushing Arateia, who struggled futilely against it; it continued, compacting her, more and more. When Arateia was almost completely curled up, I looked way, knowing what came next wasn't going to be a pretty sight.

Though I hated her, I felt sorry for she was enduring; to be crushed violently would be one hell of a way to go.

"Satou!" she yelled raggedly. "They're coming for you! I'll see you in Hell!" She cackled maniacally.

**[Megumin]** I could even hear those words out here, the words of someone being subjected to this kind of suffering; it made me angrier.

"Vanish," I said coldly. I clenched my fist tightly, staring stoically at the dying fiend far away from me.

**[Kazuma]** Aqua quickly yelled, "Sacred High Holy Shield: Sanctuary!"

The next instant, a blinding light engulfed the entire area. The sound of—what I could describe as—the world dying, was heard briefly before everything went quiet. I was knocked onto my back by a massive tremor. I couldn't see or hear anything; my senses were overwhelmed by the chaos of what was happening all at once. An oppressive heat—akin to an open oven—surrounded me as the overpowering smell of fire and ash filled my nostrils and lungs causing me to cough uncontrollably.

For what seemed like an eternity, I laid on my back, the scent of burning wood and open flames harassed me the entire time. Slowly, my other senses returned; as they did, I laid eyes on the hell that was this land. A massive column of black smoke rose out from an even larger pit and covered most of my view while an enormous fireball billowed out over the top. A dark orange haze blanketed everything as far as the eye could see as flaming rocks and embers descended from the sky; I felt as if I stepped into Hell itself.

As I sat up and stared in disbelief, my hearing returned. I could hear panting coming from near me; I turned to look. Aqua, for the first time ever, lay on all fours, breathing heavily; she was suffering from mana exhaustion.

"Aqua," I said worriedly; I instinctively crawled over to her. "W-What the hell…what the hell just happened?"

Aqua turned to look at me and then fell on her side, she continued to pant heavily. "Megumin," she said, through the breaths. "Explosion."

I quickly turned back to the hellscape; everywhere I looked was covered by a thick smoky haze, through it, I could just make out small orange glows. I could hear the crackling of the fires and falling trees, the soft groans and cries of people beyond the fog. Megumin…Megumin caused this?

I stood up as I stared out in disbelief.

"Kazuma-kun." The familiar voice of another goddess called out to me.

"Chris?" I said, turning towards the voice; indeed, it was her.

Her face showed great concern; she looked around as she walked towards me. Her eyes met with Aqua, who was sprawled out on the ground passed out.

"Aqua-senpai," She said under her breath.

"Chris, you've been here the entire time?" I asked, mildly surprised.

She turned her attention back to me. "No, not really; I arrived just a couple minutes ago." Getting close to me, she whispered. "I sensed a large concentration of demons—that, in itself, isn't really unusual; I've known for quite some time that the capital and Demon Army have been fighting—no, I came because I sensed a large concentration of relics—"

"Ah…that was the Demon King's daughter…not that we have to worry about that anymore," I interjected, looking out to the rising smokestack.

"I see…"

"Hey, Chris, you just said you got here a couple minutes ago, right?"

"Hmm, yeah, what about it?" Her attention turned back towards Aqua; she appeared highly concerned.

"Was all this really, Megumin; did she really cause this much damage?"

Chris looked down for a couple of seconds before looking up at the sky. "When I arrived, I noticed Aqua-senpai used a powerful barrier spell…thing is…it was on the verge of collapsing; had I not used some of my power to reinforce it…the force that caused all of this…it would've consumed everything as far as the eye can see. I believe Aqua-senpai used a tremendous amount of her power just containing it to the area."

"…I **know** Megumin's explosions…this is on another level…not only that, but she used Explosion a while back; she shouldn't be able to use another unless she somehow was able to replenish her mana."

"Hmm, I somewhat agree; the levels of energy released here far exceed what humans—Crimson Demon or not—should be capable of. If I'm frank, this is closer to God-tier levels of power."

"…maybe we can ask her ourselves then; can you find her in all this mess?"

Chris looked around with pity. "So much destruction," she said softly. "Are you worried about your kohai, Assistant-kun?"

"Of course I'm worried about her…how could I not be?"

Chris smiled surreptitiously. "You can be somewhat charming sometimes, Assistant-kun."

Just then, we could hear people approaching; they coughed loudly, while another said, "I think I see someone". Out of the fog, three adventurers appeared; one of them carried Megumin in their arms; Megumin's hair was snow white.

"Hey, you!" the one who seemed like the leader yelled, he ran up to me.

"Megumin?" I said with bewilderment; I walked past the approaching man and towards the one holding the small Archmage.

The remaining member, a sharp-eyed girl, jumped between me and them, she held her arms out, blocking my advance.

"This girl needs a priest; she's in serious condition!" She shouted.

I pushed past her as she protested and reached out for Megumin. Without needing to exchange words, the party member who held Megumin, gave her up without resistance.

"Oi, Terry, what are you doing?" the girl said, chastising the man. I walked away wordlessly, as I stared down at the frail girl in my arms. She was incredibly limp and showed no signs of life…was she dead…was Megumin…dead?

"Megumin?" I whispered softly; my voice cracked. "Megumin?" I asked again, swallowing hard; I could feel something welling up inside me.

No response. I turned to Chris with a desperate and nervous look in my eyes. She stared back in a mixture of commiseration and surprise. I could begin to feel a sense of desperation overwhelm my senses.

"Aqua," I said in realization of her role. As I briskly carried Megumin over, Chris stopped me. "What are you—let go—"

Chris held me back and then pulled me down to her level; she whispered, "Aqua-senpai won't be able to help her."

I pulled away with astonishment and anger; how could Chris say something so careless, what evidence did she have to assume such claims, I thought heatedly. "Aqua's an Archpriest—" I began to say before Chris interrupted flatly.

"She's beyond healing, Kazuma."

Her reply was like a shot to the heart; I felt it instantaneously, any and all resistance on my part ceased as I struggled to deny the definition of what these words meant. I stumbled backwards and shook my head in disbelief.

"She's..." I glanced down at the body in my arms; still limp and unmoving. I shook my head. "No…no…she's…"

Aqua placed her hand on Megumin's chest; I looked up at her, and for first time in my life, I looked to her to save me—to save Megumin. She gave me a downhearted gaze and shook her head. I opened my mouth in horror and stepped back.

"I can't heal her," Aqua said dejectedly.

"No…you're an Archpriest—you're a goddess…surely…surely…"

Aqua stared at the ground despondently. "Kazuma, she isn't dead," Aqua revealed. A feeling of immediate warmth filled my chest. "But," she continued, "I can't heal her…no one can."

"W-What does that mean?" I said. Everyone, but Chris stood with bated breaths, waiting for Aqua's response.

"Healing magic works by—"

"By speeding up recovery using mana as a catalyst—I know, but what does—"

"Megumin's mana channels are shredded—no, that's not even enough to say—her body is a complete mess. Kazuma, she should be completely dead but…she's still clinging to life…somehow."

The party of three seemed to clearly understand the stipulations of such a reveal; they stood aghast at the information, the girl covering her mouth in shock.

"Ok…but can't you just—"

"Healing—any magic, anything will kill her, Kazuma," Chris interjected.

The leader of the party of three placed a hand on my shoulder. "I don't understand it completely but forcing a heal on injuries this severe will cause something called 'negative mana feedback'."

"Since the mana has nowhere to flow, it'll act as an errant influence on the body and destroy it; it'll kill her," Chris clarified.

I felt my body grow cold with sweat as I looked back down at Megumin. "W-What can we do then?" I asked desperately.

"The only thing we can do is have her rest and wait; a normal human would be dead with the same injuries, but maybe because she's a Crimson Demon she was able to survive…perhaps her body will heal with time," Aqua explained.

In the near distance I could hear a few people running over. I heard Darkness yell, "I think I see him!"

I turned to Aqua and whispered, "Can you resurrect her if she were—"

Aqua shook her head. "Resurrection works on the same principals, Kazuma; it wouldn't even work…"

"Kazuma," Darkness said, a smile on her face; I had my back to her.

Iris, Claire, and Rain came through the haze shortly after. Darkness looked around, the smile on her face, disappearing as she was met with glum expressions.

"Chris, what are you—what's going on; why is everyone so—" I turned around and Darkness instantly stepped back in shock. "M-Megumin…what's wrong with her, is she—"

"She's not good," I answered.

Darkness stepped forward and hesitantly reached out to her; she stopped just short and looked at me for confirmation.

"She needs help, Darkness." The desperation I felt was beginning to surface once more.

"Mana debt," I heard Rain say softly. We all turned to look at her. "Such a serious case too."

Iris slowly walked up to me and bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, Kazuma onii-sama, if I was stronger…if I was stronger than—"

"Iris-sama!" Claire yelled out in disbelief.

"It's not your fault," I replied dejectedly. "…this girl is always doing foolish things…" I mumbled offhandedly.

Iris looked up with tears in her eyes; had the situation not been what it had; I would've been corralled by the cuteness of such a scene. She touched Megumin's hand and looked down sadly.

"Boss…" She said in a hushed tone. A moment later, she gripped Megumin's hand and full of resolve, wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to face Rain and Claire. "Gather all the sick and wounded you come across and have them fall back to the fort!"

Claire and Rain nodded.

"Lalatina, I leave Iris-sama in your care," Claire said.

Darkness gave a quick nod and the two bodyguards disappeared back into the fog. Iris turned back to me.

"Kazuma onii-sama, I'll make sure she gets the best attention; bring her back to the capital."

I nodded. Iris handed me a small golden pin.

"What's this?" I said as I stared at it.

"Don't worry, Onii-sama, anyone who sees that, will know." Iris looked around and gave a short nod to the others, and then walked off into the haze once more.

"Me…gumin?" I heard the voice of another young Crimson Demon girl; it was Yunyun.

As I turned towards her, Yunyun stumbled wide-eyed towards me; her mouth was open in incredulity, her lips quivering. She reached out to Megumin as tears poured freely from her face; this girl felt as much— no…perhaps even more pain at Megumin's condition, than I did.

"Me…gumin," she cried, burying her face in Megumin's chest. "My friend!" She yelled out in anguish. Yunyun's legs gave out and she fell; she leaned forward and wept with such intensity that all of us stood stunned by the outburst of emotion.

"Yunyun," I said softly. I could feel her agonizing pain resonate with me. "She's…still alive…but she needs help…she needs to go to the capital; can you…teleport us there?"

Yunyun sniffled as she listened to my words, taking the time to calm herself. She nodded and quickly wiped her face of the snot and tears that plagued it; tears continued to stream forth. Yunyun stood up and wiped away the tears once more and more replaced that which she got rid of.

"I can only teleport around four or five people at most," She pointed out, looking at the group present. Yunyun was struggling to put up a strong front.

"I have to meet up with Iris-sama," Darkness informed; she appeared heavily conflicted.

"It's fine," I said to her. "You have your duties to attend to."

"I'll go with you," Chris said to Darkness.

"Eh, we'll stay here and see if we can help some others," The leader of the trio said. "Take care of her; that girl is reckless, but I can tell she means a lot to you guys."

"She'll be in good hands it seems," the sharp-eyed girl said. "By the way, my name is Sophie, that's Terry, and our leader Rex; hopefully we meet again under better conditions."

"Uh, thanks," I said, bowing my head slightly. "Thanks for looking after her."

"Ah, don't mention it; we sort of have some history with her," Rex said with a slight smile. "Well, good luck."

"Thank you, Rex-san, Sophie-san, and Terry-san," Yunyun quickly said, bowing deeply.

They nodded, ran off, and vanished into the scenery.

"Guess that means, it just gonna be me, you and Aqua," I said.

"No," Aqua interrupted, "I'm staying; there's still people out here who need help."

Both me and Yunyun were shocked at her response; it was times like these that Aqua really showed her worth and worked to dispel the identity of uselessness she had created for herself.

I gave a small smirk, "You are a goddess after all," I said half-teasingly.

Aqua looked down in seemingly light embarrassment; it was an odd expression for her to wear. "Kazuma," she said seriously, "look after her."

"Of course," I replied as I stood near Yunyun. "See ya later."

There was a flash of white light and the next instant, me and Yunyun stood in the capital's teleportation circle. Instantly, several guards surrounded us with weapons drawn. I adjusted Megumin in my arms and pulling out the pin Iris gave me, I raised it for them to see. The guards quickly sheathed their weapons and the one who seemed to be in charge stepped forward, bowing lightly.

"Forgive us," he said. "One can never be too cautious."

"This girl needs medical attention, where can I take her?" I said, quickly brushing off the formalities.

The guard swiftly pointed us in the right direction and then sent two others to escort us; minutes later, Yunyun and I were stood in a large and elaborate hospital. After showing the pin to the staff, we were promptly led through the crowded building into a much quieter section, which was separated by a contingent of guards and large gates. Though nurses didn't really exist in this world (as healing magic made them somewhat obsolete) the woman who stood before us was—what I could best describe her as— a nurse; she bowed courteously.

With a snap of her fingers, a team of other nurses and archpriests came and took Megumin off me. Within seconds, they were able to deduce what was wrong with her and take appropriate actions; this was a team of professionals at work; the speed and precision of what they did was, frankly, awe-inspiring. As the team headed off with Megumin, the head nurse turned to me.

"Worry not, this section houses the best medical staff in all the kingdom; this ward is to provide care to the royal family and their esteemed guests. Once we finish running diagnostics, we'll be sure to let you know in what room she'll be staying. In the meantime, please have a seat."

The nurse left. Me and Yunyun sat down in some nearby seats. I sighed deeply and looked over at Yunyun; she was sat back with her hands clasped to her knees, a sad and worried expression on her face. We sat in silence for what seemed like hours until the nurse came back.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said with a quick bow. "Right this way."

The nurse escorted us to a room towards the back of the ward. As we walked, I glanced at the decorations and immaculate marble walls; It would've been impressive, if not for the circumstances.

"Here we are," the nurse said, she stepped aside as she extended her arms towards the door.

I opened the it and walked in, Yunyun following close behind. The room was needlessly large but filled with various luxuries and decorations that made it seem smaller than what it really was. The floor was carpeted, and the walls were black marble with white veins streaking through them, the trimming, a brilliant gold. In the middle of the room was a large bed that looked like it belonged to a member of royalty; Megumin lay motionless at its center.

She wore an ivory silk gown and as I approached, could see her chest rising and falling slowly. In this regard, whatever the healers did, Megumin was already in far better condition. I leaned over on the edge of the bed and looked down; I was shedding tears, but I felt relief. Yunyun, on the other side of the bed, knelt and stared off at her resting friend's face; she was crying as well.

"Hey, Megumin," she said, grabbing onto the edge of the bed, "me and Kazuma-san are here so… please…wake up soon."

I felt that Yunyun wanted to say more, but either found it difficult to or unable.

"Kazuma…san," she said.

I cut her off. "It's fine Yunyun…we're friends."

This girl…I had considered Yunyun a friend for a while now; though she could be somewhat awkward (maybe owing to the fact that she was a Crimson Demon), she was perhaps amongst the most "normal" of people I knew.

Yunyun smiled faintly, burrowing her face in the blankets near the edge of the bed. "Kazuma…kun, I'm going to head back to the village; I need to tell Megumin's parents."

The thought of Megumin's parents finding out the condition their daughter was in chilled me to the bone, but Yunyun was right, they had the right to know.

I gave a simple nod. Yunyun stared at me with some regret and then looked at Megumin one last time before she left the room. Seconds after she left, I heard a knock.

"Come in," I said. By now, I took a seat in one of the chairs beside the bed.

A man who appeared to be a high-ranking priest came in; he bowed lightly as my gaze fell upon him.

"I am Archpriest Levitz; I am the attending medical professional of your friend." The doctor, essentially.

"So, what's wrong with her, doc?" I said instinctively.

The priest appeared slightly perplexed but quickly brushed it off. "There's a lot wrong. Simply put, her case is unique, and her circumstances are extraordinary. She's suffering from a severe case of mana exhaustion. In situations where one's mana reserves are consumed by several times, a more severe form of exhaustion can occur, this is called, Mana Debt.

"The reason I say her case is unique and extraordinary is because there's only a limited number of recorded cases and of those cases the afflicted usually are comatose, lose the ability to manipulate mana, or dead; she's neither of those."

"So…she's ok?"

"Well…no; as it stands now, she can't use any magic or have any magic used on her; it's practically a poison to her body. The white hair she exhibits is a side effect of the mana debt, but if her mana conduits heal, everything should return to normal."

"…"

"Another thing is her body itself is in pretty bad condition; it's similar to damage caused by 'force casting' magic spells but highly exacerbated."

"Force cast?"

"Hmm, do you not know of force casting? It's basically using one's own life force to make up the difference in a limited mana pool. Obviously, using one's life force will have detrimental effects, but it usually isn't to the scale of damage your friend here has."

I looked back at Megumin; I was angry at how reckless she was. _"What the hell was she thinking?!"_

"So, is there anything I can do to help her?" I asked.

The priest shook his head. "Everything basically relies on her; cases this severe are usually out of our hands since we're extremely limited in what we can do."

"I see…"

"If you need to ask me anything pertaining to her health, let me know." The priest bowed once more and began to leave. "Oh," he said, stopping in his tracks. "I should probably mention she had a very powerful potion on her person, an elixir; it's a very rare and expensive potion used for healing sickness and disease; we used it on her to great effect. It was quite fortunate she had one; it would've taken several days for us to request one. The Crimson Demons are practically the only ones capable of making them."

_"How'd she get her hands on a potion like that?"_

With that, the priest left.

I turned back to Megumin and placed my hand on her head. She looked so peaceful and beautiful sleeping like this; it brought a smile to my face. I wanted to hug her, to console her, but I felt it would be in vain.

"Megumin," I said softly.

There was no response, just the continued rhythmic sounds of slow breathing. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly before letting it rest in my palm. Her hand twitched subtly, catching me by surprise.

"Megumin," I said, more loudly.

Her eyes twitched and slowly opened.

"Kazuma?" She replied, her head turning slowly towards me.

Light tears rolled down my cheek as I smiled. "Good morning, Megumin."

**Part 5**

She returned a weak smile. I grasped her hand more tightly.

"Did you sleep well?" I said, my eyes twitching a bit.

"Huh, oh—ah, Kazuma, you're holding my hand too tight."

"Ah, am I?" I said, squeezing tighter.

Megumin winced in pain as I grabbed her by the collar and shook her. "Do you know how much grief you've caused me, you damn…idiot."

Megumin stared at me wide-eyed. I let her go.

"…But…I'm glad you're alive." I said, smiling once more with tears in my eyes; I wiped them away.

Megumin smiled timidly and asked, "Where am I?"

"Hospital," I answered. "You're in real bad condition."

"…that so?"

"Yeah. For starters, you can't use magic; mana is—"

Megumin coughed violently, spilling blood from her mouth.

"Oi, what's wrong?!" I said.

She gave a small chuckle and swallowed deeply. "Yeah…it seems so…hurts like hell to channel mana."

I grabbed her by the collar once more. "What the hell are you thinking?! Stop being so damn reckless, will you?!"

Completely unfazed by my outburst, she grabbed my hands and smiled. "Did I get her…at least?"

I loosened my grip. "…yeah…you got her," I replied, still somewhat mad at Megumin.

She closed her eyes and smiled weakly. "Worth it then," she said, before going limp once more.

"Oi, Megumin…" I shook her lightly; she remained unresponsive. "Megumin!" I shouted, pressing my ear to her chest.

As soon as I did, she stroked my hair. "You're being too loud," She teased.

_"This…fucking…"_

I pulled away; a look of anger clearly written upon my face. "Can you stop doing that, dammit?!"

She reached out to me; I looked at her outstretched arms, and then back at her. "What?" I said.

"Come…sleep with me…I feel cold."

I relaxed slightly and then sighed. "Phrasing," I said as I climbed into the bed. Megumin remained smiling as we stared at each other.

As I wiped away the blood around her mouth, she reached out and touched my cheek.

"I missed you," she said, burying her head in my chest. "I missed this."

I began to breathe a bit harder as I hesitantly hugged her. "You should take it easy, Megumin," I said. "Y- You're a frail girl to begin with…"

"I'm a Crimson Demon; frail or not, haven't I demonstrated my power already?" She replied, looking up at me; her face centimeters from my own.

"Yeah, and look where it landed you…why do that anyways, why to this extent?"

Megumin looked down glumly. "It wasn't enough…my best…it wasn't enough; I was mad…all I could feel was rage…all the rage I've had over the past weeks just…boiled over. I wanted to make her—no…I think I wanted someone—anyone to feel it; she was just the most viable choice."

"Megumin," I said in a serious tone, "don't do this again…whatever power you tapped into, whatever happens, don't use it again."

Megumin stared at me shyly and then gave a faint smile. "I don't…think I can; I don't think I can use it again; I don't know how."

"…good. If one explosion isn't enough, I'll come up with another plan. Besides…white hair doesn't suit you," I said, staring at Megumin's hair.

She turned in my arms and pushed her back into me, curling up. I smiled lightly and pulled her closer. With the warmness and relief I felt, exhaustion overtook me; I remembered that I also was not in the best condition. As I thought this, I drifted to sleep.

**_-Several hours later…_**

I awoke to pounding on the door; Megumin remained sleeping as I got up to answer. As I was about to open the door, it flung ajar. On the other side of the threshold stood Megumin's father, Hyoizaburo, eyes flared a roaring crimson. Not far behind him was Yuiyui; however, her disposition was more concern than anger.

"You!" he said, his voice seething with rage; he quickly grabbed me by the collar. "I was a fool to leave my—"

"Dear," Yuiyui said calmly, but sternly.

Hyoizaburo turned his head slightly. "Can I not even grieve over my own daughter?" He said, anger still fully present in his tone.

Yuiyui touched his shoulder and after a deep sigh, he turned back to me; he let go. "Sorry," He said and then briskly walked past me towards the bed.

Yuiyui gave me a short nod as she walked past. I took this as my cue to leave and did so. Yunyun stood outside by the room; she avoided my gaze as I looked at her.

"Sorry," She said, her voice full of regret.

"It's fine, Yunyun; I sort of expected something like this to happen," I replied.

"I-I tried to explain what happened, but—"

"It's not like you can expect a parent to calmly listen to why their kid is lying nearly dead in a hospital; and it's not like it's the first time Megumin's been sick under my care…it hasn't been that long since the last incident either."

"…"

"Hey, I need to do a couple things; think you can look after her for me?"

Yunyun quickly looked up and nodded.

"Thanks, Yunyun."

Truth be told, I wanted to eat something; I was feeling extreme hunger pains and my throat felt parched. The reality of having neglected such basic needs was starting to come down on me; only reason I haven't felt it till now was all the adrenaline running through me. Now that I had a chance to calm down, its debilitating effects were upon me like a rabid dog after a meal. Stepping out of the private ward and into the hospital proper, I was met by an entourage of familiar faces; Darkness, Iris, Claire, Rain, Chris, and Aqua were all heading my way.

"Kazuma," they all exclaimed in their own way. Iris was the first to reach me.

"How's Megumin-san?" She asked.

"Ah, she got the attention she needed, thanks; oh, here," I said, withdrawing the golden pin.

Iris shook her head. "You can keep it, Onii-sama."

I smiled and then quickly doubled over as my stomach growled. "Gah—I need food."

"Kazuma, you ok?" Darkness said as she approached me.

"Just…need food."

"You shouldn't eat too much," Claire said. "If you've gone a long time without eating, suddenly ingesting large quantities can have painful effects…matter of fact, disregard what I just said."

I frowned at her and then turned my attention to Aqua who was hunched over exhausted.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"Ah, she's been a real help," Rain said with a smile. "She's been healing tons of injured and even reviving people; you're blessed to have such a talented Archpriest in your party."

"Yeah, a real treat; glad she was of some use to you guys. _I have to remember to reward Aqua for all she's done these past few days._"

As the group went through the gates towards the private ward, Chris broke off and made her way over to me.

"Everything work out?" She asked as I dragged myself through the hospital.

"Eh—yeah…more or less; I don't know how well I'm gonna get along with her parents in the future though."

"Ah…well, yeah; bringing back their daughter nearly dead can prove to be a damper on relations."

"So, what's the verdict then; did they say she'll be ok?"

"You guys basically called it; the doctor here said it's basically all up to her at this point."

"I see…if that's the case our little assistant will be back to normal given the time."

"…you think so; I mean considering the severity of her injuries—"

"You've lived with her so long and yet you still doubt her tenacity; if the healing depends on her, I've no doubt she'll get better."

"…well, I guess you're right."

"I'd bother you some more, Assistant-kun, but I can't really stay in the capital for too long, you know?"

"Ah, right…well, thanks for everything, Chris."

"Don't mention it; don't be afraid to lean on me when you need a bit of help." Chris smiled and scratched her scar deviously before running off.

It was already evening, and the capital was filled with people celebrating the return of their triumphant King and Prince; the epic victory against the forces of the Demon King. The streets were awash with stalls and vendors, decorations and commemorations to this joyous event; it reminded me a lot of the Eris Cultural festival back in Axel.

Dodging the stalls, I headed deeper into town and found a restaurant; by the time I was seated, and the food brought out, I was close to passing out. The moment the food and drinks arrived, I scarfed it all down without a second thought; sure, Claire's warning was still fresh in my mind, but I was too hungry to care. After eating my fill, I sat back happily in my chair.

I began to think about everything that happened over the past few weeks; never did I imagine any of it would turn out the way it did. The thoughts made me tired and once again I found myself feeling exhausted. Should I return to the hospital or find an inn to stay at; I thought about it for a bit and decided on staying at an inn. I couldn't face Megumin's parents after what happened earlier; granted, Megumin's condition wasn't largely my fault, at least, not this time.

After paying for the food and drinks, I stumbled off through the city, looking for a place to sleep.

**_-The hospital..._**

"I'm telling you, Oto-san, it's not his fault," I said angrily.

"I don't care; it seems my first thoughts about him were spot on, after all," my dad said in frustration.

Just then a timid knock was heard; we all looked in its direction before my mother went and opened it. It was Yunyun. She bowed courteously to my parents, and then ran in to see me.

"M-Megumin, you're awake!" She smiled like a child getting a gift.

I quickly averted my gaze. "Ah…who let you come?" I said coldly.

Yunyun quickly grabbed and shook me. "How could you be so mean, Megumin; I was the one who told your parents you were here."

"Ah, it all makes sense now…you were the one who made a mess of things…as you do."

Yunyun stood teary-eyed, mouth aghast by the callous attitude I was giving her; of course, I didn't mean it, teasing Yunyun was just too fun to pass up though.

"I think you have a visitor," my mother said.

Iris appeared at the door, smiling brightly as she always did.

"Megumin-san!" she said happily. My parents bowed lightly as she walked into the room.

"I hope my daughter hasn't caused you much trouble, Hime-sama," My mother said, still bowing.

"Please, no formalities, Megumin is as much an onee-chan to me as Kazuma is an onii-chan; by that token, I couldn't ask her parents, to be so formal," Iris explained.

"Ah, thank you, Hime-sama."

"Iris is just fine," she informed. "Let me start by saying Megumin-san is amazing; she single-handedly defeated the enemy general and her forces."

"She's exaggerating," I clarified. "…but I am amazing," I added with a smirk.

My father smiled widely and cleared his throat. "Humph, of course, I always expected greatness from Megumin; after all, she's my daughter, daughter of the number one potion maker of all of the Crimson Demons."

"Potion maker?" Iris queried. "If you're the number one, then Megumin-san's family must be extremely wealthy."

All of us quickly averted our eyes; my father tugged on his collar in response.

"Ahem, well my potions are sought from far—"

"Oto-san, please, that's enough of your…great…success…" I said depressingly.

"Actually, Megumin, I didn't really come here alone; the others are waiting outside," Iris said.

As she said this, Claire and Rain appeared at the door, followed by Darkness and Aqua.

"Iris-sama, have you had your fill?" Claire said. "Perhaps it's better to allow her companions to assess her first?"

Iris pouted and then smiled back at me. "I'm glad you're better, Megumin-nee; I'll go now, maybe we can do some activities once you get better."

"Oh no," Claire said. "None of those activities, Iris-sama." Iris waved good-bye and ran off, past Claire, who was still reprimanding her.

Rain smiled and waved goodbye.

Darkness stepped into the room with Aqua. "Glad to see you're awake; you seem to be doing much better," She said, approaching the bed.

Aqua looked around the room in awe. "This is really nice; perhaps I should tell Kazuma to get the mansion in this design…oh, and nice to see you're doing better, Megumin."

I frowned but quickly smiled. "I'm glad to see you guys too."

"Sorry if we're interrupting some family time," Darkness said, looking at my parents.

"Oh, not at all, Darkness-chan," my mom replied with her usual smile. "We'll be back later; it's been a while since we've been to the capital, so I think we'll look around, right dear?"

My father looked confused, but then clumsily answered. "Oh—Ah, right; Megumin's alive, so, yeah, we'll be looking around the capital, perhaps I can find some potential customers."

"Please don't tell them I'm your daughter," I said quickly, however, my father and mother were already headed out the door; I sighed, knowing they would probably use me as some sort of selling-point.

"Don't know how I feel about the hair," Darkness said with a smile.

"Oh," I said, pulling on my snow-white bangs. "Yeah, don't know how I feel about it either."

"I think it looks kinda' cute on you, Megumin," Aqua said, leaning close to me to inspect them. "Kind of have this 'albino rat look' going for you."

"Did you just call me a rat?"

"By the way, where's Kazuma?"

"Oi, did you just call me a rat?"

"I could've sworn he would've been here by now."

"Can you stop ignoring what I'm saying?"

"Umm, we passed him on the way in, remember?" Yunyun said. All of us jumped in surprise.

"Yunyun," I said, clutching my heart. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Yunyun frowned and pouted. "You guys definitely knew I was here!"

We quickly turned away.

"No, wait, there's no way you guys…" Yunyun started sobbing. "You guys…"

"Sorry Yunyun," I said. "You're just easily forgettable; in fact, I'd go so far as to say you're as forgettable as the background character who only shows up at convenient times in a story."

She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me as she cried even harder.

"Yunyun, please stop; I feel like I'm breaking," I said, trying to stop her.

She complied and deflated to the ground. I stared at the despairing Yunyun and smirked; it made me feel better than it should've.

"So, what did the healers say?" Darkness queried.

I turned back to look at her with a sad expression. "I can't use magic for a while…and my body feels like I got hit by a one-shot bear."

"No magic…must be tough for you."

"A heavy price to pay…that's for sure."

Aqua plopped onto end of the bed and sighed heavily. "I'm so tired; I'm gonna get some sleep so you guys keep it down."

"Aqua," Darkness said, but she was already asleep. Darkness exhaled deeply. "Sorry, Megumin, guess we'll just keep you company."

I smiled. "That's not so bad I guess."

"C-Can I…**stay** with you too?" Yunyun said timidly.

"Eh, Yunyun, I almost forgot you were here." She almost grabbed me once more, but I held my hands up in defense. "Y-You can stay here…such a weird girl."

"Well…there's not really any place I can lay down—"

"You can sleep on the floor," I interrupted with a smirk. Yunyun attempted to assault me again, and once again I shielded myself. "F-Fine, you can sleep on the bed…such an insolent crony."

Even though I spent so much time resting, I was extremely tried, almost to the point of exhaustion; as the rest took their spots and fell asleep, I did too.

**_-Next morning_**

"Yunyun, I can eat it myself," I said mildly frustrated.

Yunyun was attempting to feed me breakfast; she smiled brightly as she did so.

"Megumin's really sick so it's ok if I feed her for the mean time," She replied, holding the spoonful of soup to my face.

I frowned but after sighing, ate. "I'm sick, not an invalid, Yunyun; I don't want people getting the wrong idea if they see you feeding me like this." I smirked after saying this.

Yunyun's face lit up beet red. "W-W-What is Megumin saying? Why do you always have to say such odd things; I-I just don't want my rival to be so sick for such a long time, yeah, that's it," She stammered.

Darkness and Aqua left early on to find breakfast and presumably, Kazuma; leaving me and the awkward Yunyun alone. As she continued to feed me, I grinned devilishly.

"Eh, I don't like it when you make those faces; it usually means Megumin's thinking of something devious," Yunyun said worriedly.

"Humph…I just want to reaffirm that Yunyun would make a good wife."

Yunyun looked down in embarrassment and shoved the hot bowl of soup into my chest.

"Ah, you dimwit, what the hell—that burns!" I said angrily.

"I-I'm sorry—I couldn't help it! Why must you always tease me so!" Yunyun retorted as she covered her face, still full of humiliation.

"Great…now I'm all wet; Yunyun at least clean up the mess you made." I said, taking off the gown.

"W-What?!" Yunyun said, shooting up. "T-this would've never happened if Megumin didn't say such weird things!" She argued, pointing accusingly at me.

"Why are you so susceptible to such obvious jokes…as if I'd choose Yunyun to be my wife."

"Y-you say it like there's something fundamentally wrong about me!"

"Pfft, Yunyun, there **is** something fundamentally wrong with you." I got up and walked over to the bathroom; Yunyun followed some distance behind. As I walked in, I quickly turned around. "What are you doing?" I said in mild confusion.

"Eh, uh, I thought you'd want me to help you…"

"…Yunyun…I always thought you were odd…but now I think I know why you don't have a boyfr—"

"N-N-No! It's not like that, I swear!" Yunyun yelled, clinging desperately onto me.

"Ah, ok, I get it; get off of me," I replied, attempting to pry myself free from her.

Yunyun let go and hunched over despairingly, she had small tears in her eyes. What an easily upset girl; it was difficult to believe she was my age.

"Go clean up the mess you made," I said, shooing her away as I closed the door to the bathroom.

After taking a bath, I came out with a bathrobe I found inside (apparently it was stocked to my size); my parents were back. They appeared to be asking Yunyun of my whereabouts.

"Ah, daughter of mine," my father said happily as he noticed me, "I was able to get some new customers; our days of being poor will soon be behind us."

"Could easily be solved," I replied just low enough for him not to hear me.

"The princess paid for our stay as well," my mother informed, her iconic smile present. "What a good visit."

"Eh, is that why you guys came back to see me?"

"Well…" my father began. My parents both looked at each other and then at me. "I was wondering if you wanted to come back to the village; the rest of your healing could take place over there, no?"

"Eh, but I can't use magic; if the others found out, I'd be a laughingstock. Come to think of it, my staff…"

"Oh, Sophie left your staff with me," Yunyun said. "But…." She withdrew the staff from underneath the bed and held it up for me to see.

"My manatite staff," I said sadly. Its concentration orb was gone and the staff itself was nearly charred to a crisp.

"Goodness," my mother said, holding a hand to her mouth.

"Oi, what happened to your staff?" my father said in slight shock.

"I…I guess I kinda' broke it," I replied dejectedly.

"You broke it…how? Do you even know how much mana one has to put into a staff to break it?"

Yunyun coughed loudly. "In any case, Megumin, I think you should go back with your parents since they can teleport. I'll stay and tell the others when they get back."

"Ah…well…seems like—" My vision went blurry and head felt light; I stumbled backwards onto one knee. My parents rushed to my side. I held my head in pain and began to feel exhausted once more. "Seems ok," I said softly. "Sorry…I'm tired…can I sleep?"

My father nodded and picked me up. "Sorry, Yunyun, but can I ask you to bring Megumin's things when you can?" He asked.

Yunyun nodded. I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

**_-In town…_**

"I can't believe you ate so much after Claire told you not to," Darkness argued.

I was hunched over in incredible pain. "Shut up," I retorted pitifully. "I don't need to hear it from you too."

"Serves you right," Aqua said as she ate some dumplings bought from a stall.

I cast her an unforgiving glare as she returned a childish smile.

"Anyways, I needed to get away from there." I rubbed my stomach as the pain subsided briefly.

"Ah, right, Megumin's parents," Darkness said. "They weren't too happy, I take it?"

"Eh, mostly her dad—hey, Aqua, can't you just heal me?"

"Don't wanna, besides it's your fault that you ended up this way."

"Huh, I was kidnapped, how the hell was that my fault?!"

"Don't wanna! I don't wanna use my powers for something so stupid and small."

"Tch, what a whiny…"

"And don't think I forgot about the promise you made me."

"Huh?"

"The alcohol you were gonna buy me and the allowance!"

"Gah—of all the things you choose to remember…can't say I'm surprised."

Aqua grinned.

As we all arrived at the hospital and made our way to Megumin's room, we met up with Yunyun who explained what had occurred in our absence.


	6. Chapter 5: The One Dyed in Crimson

**Chapter 5: The One Dyed in Crimson **

**Part 1**

"So, they headed back to the village?" I said.

"I can take you guys back, if you'd like," Yunyun offered.

There were still some things I wanted to do in the village; I had that unfinished set of projects that I wanted to get back to but staying at Megumin's made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Taking notice of how apprehensive I was, Darkness interjected, "I can help you patch things up, Kazuma; try not to think about it too much."

"Or I can," Aqua added.

"No—you keep your mouth shut; knowing you, you'd probably end up making things worse somehow," I retorted.

Aqua pouted and then turned away from me, arms crossed. "Fine, don't ask me to help you out when you inevitably get into trouble."

"Not like I do; anyways, it's because of you guys that I always find myself in trouble."

"Surely, I'm not included in that statement," Darkness said confidently.

I stared at her. "No, you're definitely included."

"D-do I cause you trouble…Kazuma…kun?" Yunyun asked timorously.

"Uhh…no, I guess not," I answered, scratching my head in thought. "Anyways, we should probably thank Iris personally—"

"While I'm inclined to agree," Darkness interrupted, "in your case, I wouldn't; you'd probably pull some move to try and stay here."

"Do you guys really believe that?"

Aqua and Darkness exchanged looks. "You'd definitely stay, you PedoNEET," Aqua said, placing a hand on her hip. "I can't possibly have that happen again; who'd pay for my living expenses?"

As I was about to retaliate, I stopped myself and took a deep breath. "Come on, Yunyun; takes us back to the village. And by us, I mean me and Yunyun; you two can take a wagon or walk back for all I care."

"Huh?!" Aqua yelled nervously. "Kazuma-san, you don't really mean that; I mean, I-I don't even have money—"

"Maybe you could sell your useless body; I'm sure there are people who'd be into someone like you."

"W-Wait, Kazuma, how about me?" Darkness said, stepping forward.

"Huh, what about you? You can accompany her."

"As in, accompany Aqua into being violated and humiliated in front—"

"Please, Yunyun get us out of here."

"But…" Yunyun said uneasily.

"They'll be fine."

"Wait, Yunyun, don't leave me here!" Aqua said, sobbing uncontrollably as she clung to her.

Yunyun looked to me anxiously.

"Get off of her, Aqua," I said, attempting to separate her from Yunyun.

"No—you can't do this to me, Kazuma; please, I'm sorry, Kazuma, please forgive me!"

"Stop it, you stupid goddess, you're causing a scene!"

Upon hearing this, Aqua cried even louder.

"Ugh, fine—get us out of here, Yunyun."

Darkness, who became sad at the thought of not having to worry about terrible situations befalling her anymore, glumly walked into the magic circle.

After a bright flash, we arrived at the village center and promptly headed over to Megumin's.

"Kind of feel like going back to the mansion," I said, noticeably distraught.

"Hmm, it's not like you, Kazuma, to be so concerned about what others think about you," Darkness said.

"Yeah, I think at this point everyone knows that you're a terrible person," Aqua added nonchalantly.

I shot her a damning look. "…well…it's not like I really care…just reminds me about similar sentiments I had to endure back home."

Darkness looked at me in confusion; the reality of my past was still a mystery to everyone but Aqua.

"Similar sentiments…did you have trouble with your parents, Kazuma?" She asked.

"Not anything serious, but we didn't exactly get along…"

Aqua stayed silent as we walked.

"Anyways, it's in the past," I concluded.

We arrived and Darkness knocked; seconds later, Komekko answered the door, as per usual.

"Oh, nee-chan's friends," She said with a smile. Komekko held out her hand as she stepped aside.

Aqua pulled out some dumplings and gave it to her as we entered.

"Komekko, who is it?" the voice belonged to Megumin's father, Hyoizaburo.

"Onee-chan's friends," Komekko answered gleefully as we stepped into the living room.

Hyoizaburo stared sternly at me. "What are you doing here?" He asked in equal measure.

I was beginning to grow frustrated. "Look, if you don't want me here, I'll just go; you can keep your daughter if you don't want me to be around her anymore," I announced.

"Kazuma!" Darkness interjected in disbelief.

"That also means since I'm no longer associated with Megumin, I shouldn't have to send money over, right?"

Hyoizaburo stared at me in shock. "Uh, wait, I'm mean—how about my family?!" He shouted, his composure falling apart.

I looked away with arms crossed.

Darkness grabbed me. "Kazuma, that's going too far; this is too much—even for you."

"I'm the victim here; I'm being singled out for something I didn't even do!"

"Still…are you really ok with just leaving Megumin?"

I averted Darkness' worried gaze.

"Kazuma-dono, forgive me," Hyoizaburo said, completely prostrated before me, "I've been completely misunderstanding."

Seeing Megumin's dad in such a humiliating position gave me no sense of justice, in fact, quite the opposite. "Eh—ahem…it's fine…maybe I was a bit rash as well."

"Does that mean you'll keep the money coming?" Hyoizaburo's demeanor changed back to a completely stern man.

_"So, that's what this is all about…_uh…sure, I guess."

"Ah, then it's all settled," He said, quickly jumping up and patting me on the shoulders.

_"This guy…"_

"Hey, Kazuma," Aqua said, she was focused on a game she was playing with Komekko, "I'm heading back to Axel after this; it's been too long since I've seen Emperor Zell and I have a feeling that shop attendant might've rubbed his bad influence on him."

"Uh, sure."

"I'll head back too in that case," Darkness added. "There are a couple obligations I have to take care of."

"Wait, you guys are completely fine leaving me alone with Megumin?"

"Honestly, Kazuma, is that the only thing that goes through your mind?" Aqua replied. "She's sick, and all you can think of how you can—"

"Hey, I didn't say I was gonna do anything…just surprised that you guys would put me in that position."

"Don't worry guys," Yunyun spoke up, "I'll be here to watch over Megumin."

All of us leapt in surprise.

"Yunyun, I thought you left," I said, letting out a breath of relief.

She was completely hunched over in depression, mumbling incoherently.

"Anyways, Kazuma, behave," Darkness ordered.

"Whatever, Darkness, I'm the most responsible one; you have no right to tell me such things."

Darkness sighed and then turned to Yunyun. "Yunyun, sorry for asking such things from you, but can you teleport us back?"

Yunyun snapped out of her trance. "Huh—oh…sure."

With their goodbyes said, Aqua, Darkness and Yunyun teleported.

"Finally," I said, sighing loudly, "peace at last."

"Is Onii-chan going to see nee-chan?" Komekko asked, turning her attention to me from the aftermath of the teleportation.

For a second, I thought about it. "Yeah…I guess I should see her," I said.

Me and Komekko went upstairs; since Megumin's room (turned my own) was currently locked, Megumin was resting in Komekko's room.

"Hey," I said, knocking on the door as I did, "can I come in?"

Yuiyui opened the door. "Ah, Kazuma-san, I was wondering when you were going to show up."

I looked away briefly; for some reason I felt shame in disappointing Megumin's mom.

"How is she?" I asked.

Yuiyui made room for me to enter, Komekko ran in after me. Megumin lay sleeping in the same manner when I saw her first; her breathing was slow, but steady.

"Did she get worse?" I queried.

"She's been resting for some time now; I've kept her fed and hydrated and occasionally she'll wake to use the restroom, but…it almost seems as if she sleeps longer every time she wakes."

"Do you know what's wrong with her; like what's causing that?"

"Just off a glance I can tell she has mana debt; I assume the healers told you as much back at the capital?"

I nodded.

"Well, to add to that Megumin is such a frail girl thanks to my genes; I'm sure she's putting up a strong front when she wakes up, but the truth of the matter is she's probably feeling like she's gone weeks without sleep."

"Is it that bad, mana debt?"

"Surely, the healers told you as much. Mana debt usually ends in the death of the afflicted; as if that wasn't bad enough, this foolish daughter of mine even used force casting. Honestly, taking this all into account it's a miracle she's alive."

"They said she might not be able to use magic."

"There's a good chance…but she's also a Crimson Demon; of all the cases we now about mana debt, only two were Crimson Demons."

"…what happened to them?" I asked hesitantly.

Yuiyui stared at me. "One died and the other was virtually unable to use magic; he could only cast beginners."

"How do those cases give hope to Megumin's?"

Yuiyui smiled, it was an honest, motherly smile. "She's my daughter."

It was an almost obvious answer.

"Sorry," I said, while looking down at Megumin.

"I know it's not your fault, Kazuma-san; whatever she did, she did on her own…I have a feeling though…she did it for you."

Hearing those words, I could begin to understand why I felt some responsibility; Megumin had told me she simply lashed out, but could she have been hiding the truth, was she that upset because of what happened to me?

I shook my head. "No…I know she likes me, but—"

"Kazuma-san," Yuiyui interrupted, "my daughter is not the type to let others hurt those close to her, but I **know** how she feels about you in particular…even if **you** still don't."

True, not long ago Megumin was ready to kill for me; a thought that both terrified and shocked me. So perhaps she killed Arateia for me, but it couldn't have been **solely** for me. There were several things bothering her, and Megumin has never been the type of girl to keep a closed lid. However, the changes she was going through the last couple of weeks has been…interesting, to say the least; how high a factor I was in her decision-making was something I was—frankly—unable to determine.

Yuiyui placed a hand on my shoulder. "Will you watch over her?" She asked.

"Eh—umm…sure," I replied, somewhat tentatively.

"Thank you, Kazuma-san."

With that said, Yuiyui left the room. Komekko sat opposite of me; she stared worriedly at her sister.

"Hey, Komekko-chan, can you look after your sister for a bit; onii-chan has to take a bath."

She looked at me and nodded obediently before returning her gaze to Megumin.

I left the room and entered my own, everything was as I left it; clothing, fabrics, and various materials were strewn about. I needed time to think about everything; to think that these feelings of possible love could cause me so much distress; I shook my head in an attempt to free myself from it.

_"I should go bathe and then maybe finish these things; maybe that'll keep my mind clear."_

Doing as I suggested, I quickly grabbed a spare set of clothing and went to the bathroom; I would spend the next hour or so relaxing in a hot bath before returning to my room and finishing the last of the projects. By the time I was done, it was evening. I went to the kitchen and made myself some soup with the little bit of ingredients the home was stocked with; "_perhaps I should take some to Megumin_," I thought. After some deliberation, I gave into the idea and brought a set for Megumin as well as Komekko.

"Hey, Komekko-chan, you still there?" I queried, balancing the bowls as best I could.

I heard some movement on the other side of the door, Megumin opened it.

"Megumin?" I said with some surprise.

She yawned and opened the door wider. I stepped in, handing her a bowl in the process. Komekko, whom I expected to open the door, was fast asleep under the blankets; I could only assume she climbed in at some point.

"Did you just wake up?" I asked, taking a seat beside Megumin; she sat on the futon, eating slowly.

Megumin nodded drowsily.

Her response was slightly concerning; she slept nearly a full day. While something like that wasn't unusual for someone like me, Megumin often woke up early out of habit; after some thought, I pegged the anomaly as her being ill. Without a word, Megumin handed me her empty bowl, laid back down and within seconds, fell back asleep. I began to feel anxious once more; so much so, that I couldn't bring myself to finish my own bowl of soup.

I stared at Megumin uneasily and then left the room. I'll leave the food for Komekko, surely, she'll eat it; thinking that, I placed the bowls in the fridge and headed back to my room.

_"This girl…seems like I would probably have to start looking after her in earnest; I'll start tomorrow."_

Despite being so stressed, the mental fatigue helped me fall asleep.

**_-Next morning_**

I awoke early next morning and stared at the ceiling; although I slept enough, I felt restless. Since I was focusing on taking care of Megumin, I stayed in my tracksuit. After going through daily routines, I made my way to Megumin's room; Yuiyui came out as a I approached.

"Ah, Kazuma-san, I hope you slept well," She said with an innocent smile.

I scratched my head. "Your daughter is making it difficult," I replied casually.

Yuiyui covered her mouth and giggled. "If you have too much trouble, I can always cast Sleep on you."

I raised a brow. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Anyways, it's good that I caught you."

"Oh yeah, why's that?"

"Me and my husband are going back out to start selling some potions for the end of the month, we won't be back for five days so I'm counting on you to take care of my daughters."

"Ah, that's presumptuous of you."

Yuiyui giggled once more. "There's something I had to tell you though."

"?"

"In the event that Megumin can't really do much, you're going to have to help her."

"Huh, what do you—"

Then, I instantly understood.

Yuiyui smiled devilishly.

Even for someone like me, the thought of taking advantage of an ill girl was…disturbing…to say the least; however, Megumin's mother seemed to have no qualms about such…"opportunities".

"You can't really expect me to—"

"For instance, a woman must be well-cleaned, Kazuma-san; I'm only saying in the event that she's unable to, you must do it for her," Yuiyui interjected; she was serious.

"…can't Komekko do it for her?" I argued.

Yuiyui ignored me. "In any case, I'm counting on you, Kazuma-san."

"Counting on what exactly?" I said, mildly agitated.

She giggled again and walked off.

_"What a questionable woman."_

I knocked on Megumin's door and walked in; she was awake and stared at me as I sat down next to her.

"Hmm, a bit odd you're here and not out," She said offhandedly.

"As if I'd leave you here alone and sick," I retorted.

"I half expected you too." Megumin smiled teasingly as she said so.

"Oi, if you keep thinking that way about me, then maybe I will." I crossed my arms.

"…I should probably move back to the other room; poor Komekko doesn't have her own privacy."

"I think you're saying that more out of your own consideration."

Megumin looked away with a smirk; I was starting to see where her sense of shamelessness came from.

"Hey, you hungry?"

She looked back at me. "Huh…hmmm…a bit."

"Alright, I'll be back." I got up and went to the kitchen; on the way, I saw Komekko saying bye to her parents. Yuiyui shot me an unassuming glace and then smiled.

After I took out the leftover soup, I asked Komekko if she wanted some; she gladly accepted it and downed the entire bowl before I could leave.

"More, Onii-chan!" She shouted.

"Eh…this one's supposed to be for your sister," I replied as I held the other bowl.

Komekko stared at me with frustration, but then smiled. "Onee-chan is weak; you can give it to her."

I laughed. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it; I'll make some more food for you later."

"Mmm, Onii-chan makes good food!"

I patted Komekko on the head, she returned it with a wide and childish smile; it truly warmed my heart…how I wanted a little sister.

After leaving Komekko to her own devices, I returned upstairs to find the room empty.

_"Where'd this girl go?"_

I headed back to my room to find Megumin lying down in my futon; she sat up as I entered.

"I see you took it upon yourself to come to my room." I closed the door behind me.

"Hey, this is **my** room to begin with," Megumin disputed.

I couldn't really argue that, so I stayed silent. Luckily, I moved all the stuff I was working on to the closet; I still wanted them to be a surprise…perhaps I would give Megumin her gift when she got better.

"Here." I handed her the other bowl of soup and sat down.

"More soup?" She replied with a tinge of disappointment.

"Huh, you got a problem with that?"

Megumin quickly shook her head and smiled. "I like anything that Kazuma makes."

Taking me by surprise, I promptly felt myself blush; I turned my face away to hide it. I could see Megumin grin slyly out the corner of my eyes; she began eating soon after.

"Hmm, there's not much in here," She said, scrapping the bottom of the bowl with her spoon.

"Ah yeah, that was what I left yesterday; couldn't really bring myself to eat it all."

Megumin grew red.

"Oi, you ok; you running a fever?" I quickly pressed the back of my hand to her forehead. "Odd, you don't feel hot. Wait—are you embarrassed about eating my leftovers?!"

Megumin slapped my hand away and pouted. "Of course not, I'm a grown woman, why would I be embarrassed over something so trivial and childish?!"

I burst out laughing, pointing at her while I did. Megumin frowned and crossed her arms.

"Of all the things to get embarrassed over…" I wiped the tears from my eyes.

She shoved the end of the bowl into my chest while she looked away in humiliation.

"Hey, Megumin," I said, taking the bowl as I did, "go take a bath; you probably haven't had the chance."

"Uhhh, I can't," She replied timidly.

"Huh, don't give me that crap, you can obviously move around just fine; go take a bath."

"I-I think I'm gonna need some hel—"

"I'm not washing you—"

"W-Why not?!"

"Cause you can do it yourself!"

"B-But this is the perfect time—"

"Stop! Okay, just stop; it's not like I have no self-control, I'm not about to make moves on you while you're sick…also, Komekko's around so…"

Megumin looked down dejectedly.

I sighed. "What's up with you? You seem to act like being physically intimate is no big deal…it's a bit off-putting, you know?"

My words seemed to wound her even more. "Do…you really think that?" She said, pulling the sheets up past her face.

I sighed more deeply. "It's confusing to me…it's not something I expect from you so…it just kinda makes me…nervous."

Megumin lowered the sheets just enough to see her eyes come to life. "That's what makes it all worth it; I like it when Kazuma is flustered," She said somewhat seductively.

Her proud declaration caused me to frown. "Someday that approach is gonna backfire on you."

Megumin laughed as if she was completely well. "I'm waiting for the day."

I stared at her; how I wanted to prove her wrong, but I also knew that was probably something she wanted.

"Oi, Megumin," I said, placing the bowl aside, "if I actually did something…would you be surprised?"

She narrowed her eyes; her expression was serious. "You promised me you would, didn't you?"

"That's not exactly answering the question."

Megumin's eyes glowed; she tried to hide a growing smile behind the blanket but was a bit too slow. "If I wasn't sick…would you?"

"Being sick isn't the only reason."

"I doubt Komekko being around, is."

"Ugh, forget it…this isn't the right time to be asking—"

Megumin threw the blanket over us; in the darkness, I could only see her bright crimson eyes peering at me.

"I'm bored, Kazuma," She said in an oddly serious tone.

"You're sick; it's par for the course," I replied, trying to keep calm. "Why don't you get some—"

Megumin moved closer, I could feel her place her hand within my crossed legs; it was dangerously close to my "bottom half". I didn't dare move.

"M-Megumin…"

She inched closer; her breaths melded with my own as our faces were centimeters from each other.

"I hope you haven't forgotten about what I said," She pointed out.

"About?" I said, gulping audibly.

"How I need to use Explosion every day; it's been a couple days since the last."

My heart was pounding. I know I said I wouldn't make any moves on her while she was sick; I wanted to really believe that, but…she was making it incredibly hard to stick to that line of reasoning.

"I bet it's been a couple days since you've gotten some release too," She added, quickly whispering into my ear.

I tried to hide my excitement but Megumin definitely felt it. Who the hell was this girl? She was a far cry from the little immature chuuni brat that I knew some time ago; her guile and ability to tempt me was startling. I attempted to get from under the blanket but Megumin pounced on me and knocked me onto my back. I stared at her as she looked down from on top of me; I knew she was expecting me to resist, I didn't.

"Megumin, you need—"

She quickly leaned in and kissed me. I expected it to be forceful and full of lust, but it wasn't; it was an almost timid kiss, similar to the first time. She pulled away briefly and stared at me, her eyes and lips quivered with expectance, her eyes and face turning a deep red. She was right, I wanted her; it had been weeks since I've gotten any "relief" and my body's desires were flooding my brain's ability to control it. She leaned forward and laid on my chest; I could hear her soft breaths become deep and slow.

"Megumin?"

She didn't respond. I grabbed her and quickly sat up, throwing the blanket off, I observed her; she had fallen asleep.

I let out deep breath of relief. _"This damn girl has my emotions on a roller coaster."_

I placed her on the futon and covered her back up with the blanket; seems like she'll just need to take a bath later. I needed to clear my head and calm down, so I went to the kitchen to cook some food. Looking through the cabinets, I noticed they were all empty.

"Komekko," I yelled.

She came running with her arms spread out and stopped just before crashing into me. Komekko cutely placed her hands behind her back and leaned forward smiling. "Yes, Onii-chan?"

_"These sisters will be the end of me…"_

"Hey, Komekko, onii-chan is gonna go out to buy some food for all of us, so Megumin onee-chan is upstairs sleeping; can you make sure she's ok while I'm gone?"

Komekko began to drool at the mention of food but nodded fervently. "Komekko will watch nee-chan while Onii-chan goes buy food."

I smiled at her and patted her on the head.

I wasn't completely ok with the thought of leaving a child alone in a house looking over a sick individual, but their parents seemed to put a lot of faith in them; I guess would too…although, their parents weren't the greatest role models to choose from.

**Part 2**

I headed off into the village, while I was walking, I came across Yunyun who was on her way to Megumin's house.

"Kazuma-kun," She said, running up to me.

"Yes, I'm Kazuma."

"How's Megumin?"

"Eh, well, she's sleeping at the moment."

"Her parents went out to sell potions, right?"

"Uh—yeah, how'd you know?"

"They always go towards the end of the month."

"Well, yeah, it just me and the sisters."

Yunyun looked slightly concerned. "Kazuma-kun…" She said, looking at me suspiciously.

I sighed deeply. "I know what you're thinking, but I haven't done anything, Yunyun."

She blushed briefly. "Oh, sorry for doubting you, Kazuma-kun."

I raised a brow, and crossing my arms, looked away slightly. _"If only she knew how close she was to being right…"_

"So, if you're looking after Megumin, what are you doing in the village?"

Regaining my composure, I answered, "I was gonna go buy some food; there's nothing at their house."

Yunyun laughed nervously. "There usually isn't," she replied as she looked down despondently. "B-But, how's the garden?"

"Eh, the garden?" I thought back to where Aqua's tranquility girl was planted and remembered that it shared its home with other plants and vegetables. "Ah right, the garden; well besides me being banned from going, I make it a personal vow never to set foot in it."

"Oh, right, the tranquility girl," Yunyun said, also remembering.

"Hey, Yunyun, I know I ask you a lot, but can you go check up on them; I gotta be honest, I'm a bit worried about Megumin."

"Huh, oh sure, I was planning on visiting her actually."

"Thanks again, Yunyun; you seem to be the only person I can rely on." I said casually.

Yunyun grew red and whipped away from me, covering her face.

_"What an easily embarrassed girl._ Well, I better get going." I began walking off.

"W-Wait, Kazuma-kun!" Yunyun said, stopping me.

"Huh, what is it?"

"I forgot to tell you, Rain-san sent back all the stuff we left at the capital, it's currently at my house; maybe you can pick it up later?"

"Hmm, shy Yunyun is inviting me over her house?" I grinned smugly. "Yunyun, what would Megumin think about this?"

Yunyun stammered as she stumbled back in horror. "N-No, you got it all wrong, Kazuma-kun, I-I was just— forget it—I'll bring it to Megumin's later!" Yunyun ran off at full sprint.

I smirked; now I could see why Megumin loved to tease her so much. After some time browsing the marketplace, I bought what I came for and returned to the house.

"I'm back!" I said loudly, walking in and shutting the door.

The living room was empty; I assumed Komekko was probably upstairs with Yunyun and Megumin. I went into the kitchen and began putting most of the stuff I bought, away.

_"I'll make a hotpot."_

I smiled in anticipation of eating it and went on to prepare the meal.

**_-Megumin's room…_**

I breathed in deeply; there was a wonderful smell in the air, undoubtedly, this was Kazuma's cooking. I stared at Yunyun who stared back at me with a childish smile.

"Guh, why are you so happy; just staring at you is making me tired, Yunyun," I said, averting my eyes.

Yunyun frowned. "Why is Megumin always so cold to me?"

Ignoring her, I turned my attention to Komekko; she was lying across my stomach, drooling at the rich scent of food being cooked.

"Yunyun, could you be happy because you're thinking of feeding me again?" I teased.

She pouted in response. "You seem more than able to feed yourself this time."

"Hmm, perhaps I can get Kazuma to feed me then."

"Using your sickness as an excuse to get people to do things for you isn't right, Megumin."

"I'm not using my sickness as an excuse; it's something I would've requested regardless."

Yunyun shook her head. "Honestly, sometimes I forget how shameless Megumin can be." Looking at Komekko, Yunyun added, "Komekko-chan, don't grow up to be like your big sister."

Komekko simply looked at Yunyun and smiled before staring back at door, drooling.

"How dare you, Yunyun, Komekko is my up and coming apprentice; I have no doubt in my mind that she will succeed me in the future."

"That thought is somewhat troubling."

"For one such as you, the weird and lonely Yunyun, it is an understandable concern; however, we are a family with true Crimson Demon ideals."

Yunyun sighed. "I'm not weird or lonely," She refuted.

"Oh, is that so; so, what friends have you made recently?" I smirked as I asked.

"I-I have friends!" Yunyun shouted, desperately trying to prove her case.

"Is it another plant?"

Yunyun began tearing up, she grabbed me and shook me as she wailed. "Why must you be so mean to me!"

The door opened up and Kazuma poked his head in. "Oi, food's ready."

Komekko rushed out first. I pushed Yunyun away and got up.

"Kazuma, Kazuma, can you feed me?" I asked brightly.

He gave me a tentative look. "You seem more than good enough—"

I fell to my knees and coughed. "Ughhh, I don't feel so—"

"You're feeding yourself or you're not eating."

I grabbed onto his legs as he attempted to walk away. "Kazuma, please!"

"Oi, what the—Megumin, stop being such a brat, just feed yourself."

I clawed my way up to his waist and held on as he tried to desperately pry me off. "Y-You should be ecstatic at the thought of feeding me!" I yelled.

"Oi—what, that's a bit pretentious of you!"

"Please, Kazuma!"

"I refuse, why don't you have Yunyun do it or something?"

Yunyun began to panic.

"Tch, nevermind," I said, turning away from the both of them. "I'll just starve then."

"Ah really, that's unfortunate," Kazuma began, "I made hotpot, so—"

"Hotpot!" I said reflexively, the happiness in my voice on full display. I quickly caught myself and turned away with my arms crossed. _"Must…hold…ground."_

"Yup, hotpot with all the finest meat and vegetables I could buy."

I swallowed deeply and felt myself starting to twitch in anticipation of tasting and eating such fine food.

Kazuma grasped my shoulders and whispered into my ear, "I specifically got horned rabbit and onion duck meat cured in honey and sesame sauce."

I quickly shoved him off, "Ahhh, ok!" I fell to my knees in defeat.

We all sat at the table eagerly eating; Kazuma ate slowly, he smiled as he saw us tear into the food.

I, in particular, was famished; having eaten very little over the past days, enjoying a proper amount of delicious food was as good as any medicine.

"Hey, Megumin," Yunyun said, her mouth half-full of food, "you should slow down; you could choke."

As soon as she said so, I did; I pounded on my chest and swallowed. Kazuma and Yunyun stared in mild concern. I glared at Yunyun.

"W-Why is Megumin staring at me like it's my fault?" She said fretfully.

I shifted my gaze to Kazuma, who was eating lazily and staring amusingly at the commotion. "This wouldn't have happened if someone would've just agreed to feed me," I said as I pointed my chopsticks accusingly at Kazuma.

"Oi, can you stop, you're acting like a child," he retorted, waving me off.

My brow twitched. I quickly snatched a piece of meat off his plate, and then another before he could react; I smirked in triumph.

"Hey!"

Kazuma attempted to do the same but I quickly blocked his attempts. I laughed as I basked in my victory only to have Komekko snatch away twice the amount of food I stole.

"Ah, Komekko, no!" I yelled, tears forming. It was too late, all the food she stole away was already gone. My sister stared happily at me, as if she never did anything.

"Ha!" Kazuma laughed. "Serves you right."

After a couple of minutes, we finished eating; we all sat back in our seats, rubbing our bellies.

"Ugh, so tired," I said, almost sliding off my chair.

"Megumin," Kazuma said, using the chopsticks to pick at his teeth, "you should take a bath; you haven't taken one yet, I bet you stink."

I threw my sticks at him.

"K-Kazuma-kun, that's not something a guy should say to girl," Yunyun protested.

Kazuma waved her off. "It's probably true though," He said with a frown.

Feeling self-conscious, I smelled myself; I just smelled the scent of hotpot. "I smell like food," I said as I closed my eyes.

"We can probably all do with a bath," Kazuma said as he laid back in his seat. "Hey, Yunyun, can you take Megumin and Komekko a bath; I'll go after you guys."

"Eh, but I don't have any spare clothing," Yunyun replied.

"Hmm, and we know Megumin's isn't gonna fit you."

I glowered at him. "Humph, I refuse to allow Yunyun and her needlessly large and fat chest to bathe me."

"Hey!" Yunyun retorted in anger.

"Stop being stupid, as much as I'd like to, you know the situation that'll cause," Kazuma replied.

Yunyun blushed intensely; both me and Kazuma smirked at her reaction.

"That's fine by me—"

"M-Megumin, how can you be so shameless!"

"Kazuma's my boyfriend, so doing things like this is perfectly normal."

"As much as I want to agree with her, Yunyun, I'm against taking advantage of weak and ill girls."

I stared at Kazuma in disbelief. "You don't even believe that nonsense; if I recall, not too long ago you were rearing to go."

"Eh, that was definitely you; you were practically taking advantage of me!"

"A sick girl taking advantage of a healthy boy, wow; Kazuma should be proud with himself."

"G-G-Guys, Komekko-chan is here, c-can you please not discuss such things!" Yunyun looked like she was about to melt away.

"Ugh, I'm actually really tired though." I slumped over and laid my head on the table.

Kazuma sucked his teeth. "Yunyun, just hurry to your house and get a spare set of clothes then."

I sat up. I felt extremely tired. "It's fine, Yunyun; I'll just take a quick bath with Komekko."

"Huh…are you feeling ok?" Yunyun asked; she was worried.

I started to doze off. "Y-Yeah…I'm ok."

I could see Kazuma staring carefully at me. "Oi, Megumin, are you actually ok?" He said with a serious tone.

I let out a deep breath. "I'm just feeling really tired…"

Even Komekko began to look at me anxiously. "Is Onee-chan still hungry?"

"No, Komekko, onee-chan is ok, come on, let's go take a bath," I replied, getting up and guiding my sister to her room.

As Komekko and Megumin walked off, I looked at Yunyun; she did the same.

"Has she been acting like this since we got back?" She asked me.

"It's been getting somewhat worse," I informed. "Every day she seems to get tired more quickly and sleep for longer periods of time."

Yunyun stared anxiously at Megumin, who reappeared from Komekko's room and was walking with her little sister to the bathroom.

"Hmm, I'll hurry back," Yunyun said, getting up from the table.

She quickly left, leaving me sitting alone. As I sat in thought of Megumin's deteriorating condition, the anxiety that haunted me arose, fueling frightening thoughts; I shook my head. I cleared the table and made my way to the bathroom. I stood by the door and could hear Megumin talking faintly with Komekko.

"You okay in there?" I asked.

"Huh—yeah, I'm ok," Megumin replied.

I heard the front door open; Yunyun returned with her clothing along with a couple backpacks, she was panting quite heavily.

"Everything ok?" She asked as she approached me.

"Yeah…so she says."

"Hey, Megumin, do you need me to come in?" Yunyun asked from the door.

"No, I'm good," Megumin answered.

"Ok—"

"Ah—"

A loud crash was heard within the bathroom.

"Onee-chan?" Komekko said worriedly.

"Megumin!" Yunyun yelled, rushing in.

Megumin lay on the floor rubbing the back of her head. "I slipped," she said as she continued massaging the spot. "Ugh…Yunyun…I'm sleepy…" Megumin's eyes slowly rolled back as she passed out.

"Kazuma-kun!" Yunyun shouted.

I quickly came in, averting my eyes from the other young naked girl in the room; Yunyun quickly threw a towel over Megumin and Komekko.

"She passed out," Yunyun explained.

"She fell?"

"Onee-chan fell and hit her head," Komekko said.

I picked Megumin up and took her to Komekko's room; Yunyun and Komekko followed closely. "Dammit," I cursed, "this girl is causing me so much trouble." I placed her down on the futon.

"I'll watch over her," Yunyun said.

"Is Onee-chan gonna be ok?" Komekko asked anxiously.

"She's gonna be fine," I answered, "she just needs to sleep for a bit."

Komekko climbed into the futon and slept closely beside her sister.

"I'll sleep over, Kazuma-kun, you should probably get some rest; you've done quite a bit today, haven't you?"

"It's the afternoon; a bit early to sleep, but you're right, I'm feeling pretty tired. I'll take a nap."

**_-That night…_**

"I'm telling you, I slipped," Megumin said, she was becoming frustrated. Her attention turned to her younger sister who slept deeply at her side; she stroked her head.

"You know I don't buy that answer," I said.

"If you're not gonna believe me, then I can't change that."

"…fine."

"…I just noticed, but I haven't seen Aqua and Darkness around."

"Ah, they headed back to Axel for a bit; Aqua was worried about Zell, and Darkness said she had some things she had to take care of."

Megumin had a longing expression. "I miss Chomosuke."

"…yeah, so do I; hurry up and get better so we can be done with this stuff and head back home," I said half-jokingly.

She stared at me with a downcast expression, and then slowly repeated what I said, "Hurry up and…get better…"

For some reason, I felt uneasy about how she repeated what I said.

"Kazuma," she said, after some silence, "I'm tired, I wanna sleep…can you go?"

"Huh…you want me to go?" I was surprised; Megumin was asking me to leave her alone.

"Umu, I'm tired." She promptly lied down.

"Uhh, ok."

"I'm not mad at you or anything," she clarified, "I'm just…tired."

"Megumin…" I sighed deeply. "Alright."

As I stepped out of the room, Yunyun looked to me hopefully. "No luck," I said, "she kicked me out too."

Yunyun looked downcast.

"Maybe she's just really tired, Yunyun."

"Megumin's been acting pretty weird this entire time."

"Yeah, but it's probably due to her being sick; anyways, there's no use in deliberating it now. I'm going to bed."

"Eh, ok, well…good night."

I waved goodbye and turned in for the night; I felt extremely anxious, but after some time I forced myself to sleep.

The same thing continued for the next four days; Megumin refused to see any of us except for food and baths, eventually growing even more exhausted and frail until she was physically unable to even eat and bathe on her own. Fortunately, by then, Yuiyui and Hyoizaburo returned.

Yuiyui stepped out of the room, her eyes glowed with rage; it was a sight that made me shiver in fear. "That foolish girl!" She snarled.

I cleared my throat causing her to turn her attention to me. "What's wrong with her?" I asked.

Yuiyui's crimson eyes didn't fade in intensity nor did her scowling expression change. "It's evident she's been force-casting for some time now."

"Wait—how? I-We-Me and Yunyun have been with her…" My voice trailed off as I realized what Megumin was doing the past few days; I shook my head, I felt stupid for not noticing sooner. "Why would she do that though?"

Yuiyui sighed deeply, she calmed herself a bit, but her eyes still flared angrily. "When I asked her, all she said was that she 'wanted to get better as quickly as possible'."

My blood froze as Yuiyui said those words; being frighteningly observant, she caught the brief look of terror I had on my face.

"Do you have any reason to why she would say such things, Kazuma…san?" Her eyes glowed brighter as they focused on me.

I coughed loudly and averted her gaze. Speaking very lowly, I said, "I might."

She stepped towards me; at the moment, Yuiyui appeared like an enemy to me, in fact, my Enemy Detect started going off in her direction. "What did you say to my daughter?" She asked threateningly.

I gulped loudly and backed away. "All I said was that she should hurry and get better so we could go back to Axel, I'm sorry!" I fell back and blocked instinctively.

Yuiyui sighed again, she placed her a hand on her forehead. "If I murdered the man she loves, my daughter would resent me her entire life so…go in there and keep an eye on her. I'll have my husband make an elixir; at this point she's so feeble that…" Tears came to her eyes; Yuiyui looked away. "Please look after her for a bit more, Kazuma-san."

With those words, Yuiyui left. As per her request, I entered the room. Megumin turned her head slowly towards me; she had dark spots under her eyes and heavy bags. Her skin was moist with sweat and dry blood stained her mouth and chin.

"Megumin," I said in abject horror, "what did you do?"

She called out my name weakly. I walked over to her and sat down. "Kazuma," she said, reaching out for me, her arm wavered as she extended it.

I grabbed her hand. "Megumin, why, why do something like this?" I asked softly.

"S-Sorry," she replied; her nose began to bleed, "I…just—" She coughed loudly, blood spilling from her mouth. Megumin swallowed deeply, tears forming in her eyes.

I squeezed her hand in unease. "Nevermind, just rest."

The tears that rolled down her cheeks began to turn red with blood. Not long after, her ears bled as well. Megumin shuddered as she struggled to breath, once again she coughed, violently this time.

"Ka…zu…ma?" She said, her expression reflected the terror she felt.

I was frozen in shock at what was befalling her. The whites in her eyes began to go red and bleed more profusely; what was happening?!

"Megumin," I said lowly; I was in complete shock & awe at what I was watching unfold.

She stared back with a look of helplessness. "It hurts," She cried.

"M-Megumin, just try to calm down."

She wept heavily, blood staining the pillow and sheets around her, the tips of her white hair growing red. The smell of urine and iron filled the room as a dark red spot appeared between her legs and ballooned outwards.

_"What the hell is happening to her, are these the effects of mana debt too?"_

"K-Kazuma," she said faintly; her hand was going limp in my own, "I-I'm cold."

_"Is she…dying?" _I grabbed onto her hand more tightly. "Megumin, just hold on, your mom is coming back with medicine, just hold on a little more." I swallowed deeply in my own feeling of helplessness.

What could I do? My mind was racing at an attempt to find an answer. Finally, Megumin stared at me with complete sadness, almost as if she pitied me more than herself.

She said, "S-Sorry, Kazuma." Her eyes wavered as they filled with bloody tears. She convulsed violently and vomited blood before lying motionless; the low gurgle of shallow breaths filled the air.

"Megumin," I said, tears came to me as I was overwhelmed with emotion. "Megumin!" I shook her.

The low gurgles continued for a few seconds more before they ceased entirely. I quickly pressed my head to her chest and shot back as I gasped in horror.

"No…no, no, no, no!"

I sat up and began to press down her chest. "Megumin," I said in bated breaths.

She remained silent as I began to press down harder. "Megumin…please."

No response. I quickened my pace.

"Come on…come back."

Nothing.

"Come back to me, dammit!" My tears trickled on to her blood-stained corpse.

Silence pervaded the room; I could only hear myself grunt as I pressed down on her chest tirelessly. "Please, Megumin, that's enough, come back please!" I yelled desperately.

I heard glass break behind me; I looked over my shoulder without stopping; Megumin's mom returned. Yuiyui held her mouth in utter devastation as she collapsed into tears.

I pushed harder in response. "Dammit, come back already!" my voice cracked. "You can't leave like this!"

My arms were beginning to grow tired, I kept going. "Come on…come on…please." I began to slow down and before long, I stopped. Megumin remained motionless, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. I drooped over defeated, and sobbing, buried my face in her chest.

**Part 3**

I slammed my fist on her chest in anger. Megumin gasped and then coughed violently. Me and Yuiyui shot up.

"Megumin?!" I said, placing my ear to her chest once more; her heart was pumping.

I sat back and breathed a heavy sigh of relief before hugging her tightly in my arms. Megumin let her head rest on my shoulder.

"Now you know…a little bit…how I feel…when you leave," She whispered faintly.

I placed my hand on the back of her head and pressed her closely to me. Yuiyui hugged us both.

"You foolish girl, don't scare your poor mother like that," She said as she wept.

"Sorry, Oka-san…sorry, Kazuma," she replied breathlessly. "I'm a bit tired…can I…go to sleep?"

Yuiyui pressed her head to Megumin's. "Rest, my daughter."

After some time, Yuiyui took Megumin and bathed her; I waited in the room. I was wide-awake but felt completely exhausted. A couple minutes later, as I was staring at the ceiling in deep thought, a knock was heard at the door.

"Who is it?" I said somewhat dejectedly; I was mentally done with everything, and my voice reflected it.

"It's me," Yuiyui replied, a second later she opened the door. She carried Megumin in her arms. "Please," She said, holding Megumin out to me as best she could.

I quickly got up and took her.

"Thank you for saving her," Yuiyui said, bowing deeply. "I've no doubt in my mind that you love her dearly."

"…I think I would've done it for any of my companions…to be honest," I retorted.

Yuiyui stared at me with a faint smile. "Perhaps…but you demonstrated without a doubt that you would do it for my daughter, thank you."

I looked down at Megumin who was cradled in my arms; she still appeared frail, but she smiled peacefully as her chest rose and fell in stable rhythm. I felt my heart burn like a steady flame.

"I don't know the reason why you deny it," Yuiyui said to me.

"Deny what?" I played dumb.

She shook her head. "Nothing…please continue to care for my daughter, Kazuma-san."

"Sure…she's becoming more than a handful though."

Yuiyui looked down with a weak smile and left the room.

As soon as she left, I looked back at Megumin, she stared at me feebly.

"Take your time…we need you," I said, laying her down on the futon; I climbed in beside her.

Megumin snuggled her back into my chest. "…Kazuma…do you love me?" She asked.

I stared at her but couldn't answer. She smiled.

"If I told you I loved someone else…and left, would you be ok?" Megumin queried.

"…I would…I would be happy if—" I stopped as I felt tears roll down my cheek; it caught me by surprise.

I could just barely catch the edge of Megumin smiling. "It's ok…I love you, Kazuma."

I closed my eyes in thought. "Megumin…perhaps I don't deserve you."

She looked over her shoulder in surprise. "…umu, you certainly don't, but you're stuck with me so…" she turned around to face me, "take responsibility."

I stared at her intently; though my mind was telling me this wasn't the time; I felt my heart yearn for her. I leaned forward and kissed her softly. We pulled away briefly, our breaths becoming heavier with every passing moment.

"Megumin," I said, craving her more by the second.

She leaned forward and kissed me deeply, throwing her arms around the back of my neck. I leaned back and Megumin pulled away just slightly, she stared at me in anticipation.

"You're still sick—"

She pressed forward, silencing my protest with another deep kiss. Once again, she pulled away slightly.

"You know," she said somewhat breathlessly, "when I died…I think I met the Goddess Eris."

I stared at her curiously.

"She said, 'Go, it's not your time yet, you have people who are waiting for you; a destiny to fulfill, a life to live happily.' I couldn't see her face, but I could've sworn I heard her voice before."

I smiled. "Looks like I'll have to thank the Goddess Eris next time we meet."

"Would you be mad, if I told you I don't plan on letting you meet her again?"

"I don't think either of us have the choice."

Megumin and I smiled. She kissed me again and then laid back on the futon, she slowly pulled down the top of her pajamas; her frame was so slender; she didn't even have to undo the buttons. Her body lay bare before me as she stared at me timidly, her eyes glowing in increasing intensity.

"Will you…do something this time?" She said, half as a question, half as a challenge.

My mind raced with the thoughts and possibilities; I remembered the dreams I had at the succubus shop, initially they were of other woman, but slowly, over time, they became about Darkness and then increasingly, Megumin.

"Megumin," I said, visibly struggling with my self-restraint.

She quickly reached down and pressed her palm against the bulge of my pants; I twitched in response. She smirked, rousing it even more.

"If saving me merits a great reward, what should I give you for reviving me?" She asked, drawing close to me.

I breathed heavily as I tried to keep myself from letting go. "What an odd girl you are; how can you think about something like this after going through such an experience?"

"How can I not be when the man I love wept for me and tried his hardest to save me; what kind of woman wouldn't be this excited?"

_"No, Megumin, is an odd girl, but I can't say I dislike this side of her."_

Without letting me answer, she kissed me once more as she quickly shoved her hand into the pants of my tracksuit. Both of us exchanged wide-eyed stares, but Megumin quickly grinned devilishly.

_"Aww crap…I can feel myself…about to explode."_

She slipped her hand into my underwear and finally grasped it in her hand. I winced in pleasure, trying my hardest to not relieve myself.

"Finally," Megumin said, grinning widely. She took a more observant tone. "Hmm, it's warm."

"Gah, Megumin," I said, panting heavily; I could feel her slowly run her hand along its length.

She pushed me onto my back and pulled back the covers to reveal what she held in her hand. As she laid eyes on it, it twitched intensely. I covered my face in embarrassment while she stared in fascination.

"It looks so different from all the other times," she said curiously. "It's bigger than I thought it would be."

"Gah, Megumin, shut up."

She let go of it, but it continued to quiver steadily.

"Kazuma, Kazuma, what do I do?" She asked with the inquisitiveness of a child.

I groaned from the amount of concentration it was taking to not cum. "I-I don't know."

"Well, what do you usually do; I heard you rub your hand on it."

_"First of all, I want to know who the hell was telling her these things. _M-Megumin, I'm about to explode."

"Explode?!" She yelled excitedly.

_"Wrong choice of words."_

"Kazuma, Kazuma, d-does it actually explode?!"

Megumin grabbed onto it reflexively and I could feel a slow leak of cum ooze out as I tried to fervently hold back; however, that seemed to pique Megumin's interest even more. She thumbed at the tip, feeling the sticky fluid that flowed slowly from it.

"M-Megumin, please, don't do that." I shuddered breathlessly.

"It's sort of sticky," she said as she played with the fluid on her fingertips, she held it to her nose. "Smells funny too."

I glimpsed just in time to see her lick her finger and grimace. "Bitter," she said. "Is this what makes babies?"

"Can you shut up, Megumin? Stop asking so many questions." I was clearly embarrassed.

"B-But, Kazuma, you said you would explode; I haven't seen any explosion; how do I make you explode?"

I found it very difficult to hold back at this point; my inhibitions were almost completely gone, and my instincts as a guy were starting to surface; I wanted to tear into Megumin.

"Oi, Megumin," I said quite seriously, "I'm probably going to end up doing things I shouldn't if this continues." I said; I was sweating profusely.

Megumin smiled slyly. She grasped onto the base tightly and pumped; almost instantly, I came. The streams of warm liquid cascaded onto Megumin and the sheets behind her.

"Kazuma, you exploded!" she said, completely amused. "Can you do it again?" She began pumping once more.

"Gah, wait, Megumin!" I threw my head back and slightly arched as she slid her hand effortlessly along its length.

She continued for a couple of minutes until more cum slowly oozed out from the tip. Megumin smiled widely. "Does it do that before you explode?" She said excitedly.

"Ugh…how…observant…of you," I replied through grit teeth.

She thumbed the tip once more, pressing it between her fingers. How I wanted to do so much more, but something kept me from going wild; I was akin to a train on rails, a force, controlled.

"Kazuma," she said, growing flushed, "I feel hot."

She squeezed the top as she said that, causing me to cum again. I gasped at the feeling, it felt so much better having someone else do it for you. Megumin stared at the substance on her hand and felt the streams of it on her face and chest; it was truly a scene out of H-games I used to play. She toyed with the substance for a bit before licking it once more.

Again, she made a sour face but slowly swallowed it. I stared with a mixture of arousal and curiosity; what did she think about it? Megumin leaned forward, her face was centimeters from the tip, pulling back her hair slightly, she stuck out her tongue.

"Whoa, wait!" I said, blocking myself.

She stared at me curiously. "Hmm?"

"Wha-what are you doing?" I asked nervously. "Aren't you worried about what this might lead to?"

She smiled.

"You just don't care, do you?"

Megumin sat up. "I'm curious how it would feel."

"How what would feel?" I felt apprehensive about prodding for an answer.

"This," she said grabbing the shaft in her hand; I recoiled in surprise. "I want to know how it would feel…inside."

_"Sex?"_

"It goes inside…I'm sure of it."

I couldn't really tell if Megumin was nervous about anything anymore; whether her curiosity completely eclipsed her timidity or she was putting up a strong front, I could no longer guess. I pressed her extent of knowledge.

"Goes where?"

She looked slightly surprised at my ability to question her in the given situation; she smirked and stood up, sliding the bottom half of her pajamas off. She wore red panties which she slowly took off; for a brief minute I could see her nervousness return.

She placed her hands on her womb. "Here," She said.

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Close," I said. "90 points."

_"Are we actually doing this? Are we gonna cross-the-line…did we already?"_

As I contemplated the next steps, Megumin crawled on top of me and placed herself square above my tip. I quickly grabbed her in shock. She smirked.

"You knew," I said.

"I wonder how it'll feel." She grasped base and held it in place.

"W-Wait, Megumin!"

There was a knock on the door. I quickly sighed in relief.

Megumin sucked her teeth and answered. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Yunyun."

_"Thank you, Yunyun; I don't think I would ever be so thankful of blocking such a critical moment in my life."_

"Yunyun, go away please," Megumin said with apparent frustration.

"Huh, I just wanted to see how you're doing; I'm coming in."

"No, Yunyun," I yelled, "please don't come in."

The doorknob stopped turning and we could hear Yunyun step back slowly. "K-Kazuma-kun…are you and Megumin…I-I thought you wouldn't…"

"Yunyun, can you please go away; I'll tell you about it later," Megumin said shamelessly.

"Ahh!" Yunyun yelled as she stormed into the room with her eyes closed.

I quickly pulled the covers over me and Megumin.

"Wha-what are you doing, you idiot!" Megumin yelled.

"M-Megumin can't be doing indecent stuff like this, she's much too young—"

"I'm old enough you stupid girl, go away!"

Megumin somehow managed to kick Yunyun out despite her weakened disposition. After locking the door, she sighed and turned back to me.

"Should we continue?" She asked.

I was stunned; I simply didn't know how to answer. Both answers were equally viable. She sat down beside me and laid with the back of her head on my chest. She quickly rolled onto her side and grasped me once more.

"We can leave the good part for some other time, but I still want to play with this for a bit longer."

I let out a low moan as she stroked; Megumin was starting to get a hang of it.

"That's…enough," I said breathlessly.

I grabbed her hand and moved it away. The next instant I was hovering over Megumin; the shocking swiftness of my actions startled her. She smiled shyly and assumed a vulnerable position; she was ready and willing for me to take her…but I didn't. Instead, I laid back down beside her and slipped my hands down to her womb; unlike her, I couldn't bring myself to quickly move my hand to such a vulnerable position and it was apparent. Instead, I slowly moved it downwards; my hand shook slightly as my heart began to pound in anticipation.

She let out small whimpers as I grew closer and bit her lip as the tip of my fingers finally touched surface of her bottom set of lips. I could feel it drenched in a thick set of moisture, so much so, it surprised me. I pressed my fingertips tentatively across the surface. Megumin winced, grabbing my arm in impulse. I was quickly growing excited and my actions grew just as bold. After rubbing for a few minutes, I could hear Megumin panting heavily; she turned her face to me and kissed me deeply. I took the moment to slide a finger in.

She grasped my arm tightly and arched her back, letting out another set of whimpers in the process. Every passing moment, I could feel my hand grow wet with Megumin's juices, eventually, I slipped in another, garnering the same response from earlier. I decided to increase the pace and intensity, to which Megumin began to fidget wildly. Minutes of heavy panting and moans later, she tightened, and arching her back, let out a loud moan.

She held the arch for a couple seconds before relaxing, letting out an accompanying sigh of relief. Smiling breathlessly, Megumin curled up to me. Her bottom and my own were touching, knowing this she deviously rubbed herself on me. I grabbed her waist and held her. It would be so easy…so easy to slip in and throw caution to the wind.

However, Megumin was not done with me. She wrapped her legs around the shaft and slid slowly along it. Having been enduring for minutes now, I quickly came. She reached down and swabbed the tip with her fingers, placing them to her mouth, she sucked on them seductively. She was tempting me with everything she had; she posed the question to me, but never intended to give me the choice of backing down from the situation; indeed, Megumin wanted me to have sex with her. And if this didn't stop soon, I would.

"We need to stop," I said. I felt dizzy from all the pleasure and my body was flooded with a relaxing numbness.

Megumin turned around to face me and then pushed me onto my back. "We will," she replied, "after we figure out how this feels."

"No, we need gotta stop before we get there; didn't you say you wanted to be more than friends but less than lovers?"

"Do you?" she asked seriously. "I don't mind if you don't."

"Yunyun already suspects we're doing stuff; I can't imagine if Aqua or Darkness do."

"That's why this would be the perfect time, while they're gone."

I chuckled which confused Megumin. "When did you become so assertive?"

She smiled. "When I knew I could; if I'm honest, teasing you brings me the same enjoyment I get from teasing Yunyun…hmm give or take a bit."

That thought was a bit terrifying; I wondered if Megumin was a bit of a sadist.

"Well, I came so much there's no way anyone but us can clean these sheets; it'd be obvious to anyone doing the laundry."

Megumin smirked. "So, is that a yes?"

"Is that a yes, such an assertive brat." I placed Megumin's back onto my chest and grasped her breasts.

She quickly gasped and let out a whimpering moan. I continued, playing with the tips; she squirmed as I did. I reached down once more and rubbed the engorged bead-like object hiding within her lips. As she arched wildly, I held her down, causing her to squirm more furiously. I continued to rub quickly until I could feel Megumin break free of my attempts to hold her; she arched once more, tightening and moaning feverishly. Finally, she relaxed and panted heavily. Our bodies were covered in sweat and various fluids which were not our own.

"There," I said breathlessly, "that'll teach you to be so cocky."

Megumin lay sprawled with her back across my chest; she breathed heavily. After a minute, she turned around and lay her head on me; I was still panting from the excitement and astonishment of what we just did…of how far we went and how close we came. As I stared at her, I could—for the first time in a long time—see she was nervous; Megumin's ears, eyes, and body were all a rosy shade of red and she averted her eyes every time they met my own. I couldn't really say I felt any different; aside from the excitement, I was extremely embarrassed about what I just did to her…sort of.

I closed my eyes and laughed. "I can't believe you're nervous now of all times," I said with a smile.

Megumin remained quiet, her head was slightly lowered. "I-I…can't believe…you actually did something," She replied in trepidation; she still avoided my gaze.

"Not like I had much of a choice in the whole thing…you practically forced me into it."

Megumin quickly looked at me in panic.

In response, I—just as quickly—amended my statement. "Not like you forced yourself on me, ahem, just felt like…I was dragged along."

Megumin grew redder than before and began trembling slightly, she dropped her head in embarrassment and then turned her back to me. "I-I'm…sorry," She whispered.

"Ah…well…you should be, if I was any other guy, I definitely would've taken advantage of the whole situation and…" Even though it was something I could easily say under normal circumstances, the fact that I came really close to actually having sex with Megumin made it incredibly difficult to voice the concern. I cleared my throat. "We should…probably keep this between us."

Megumin didn't answer.

"Hey," I said, turning to look at her; however, Megumin had fallen fast asleep. I had forgotten in the excitement of everything that she was still ill. The fact that she acted so vigorously minutes earlier could completely dispel the thought of her being in a fragile state of health.

I sighed, fixed my pants, and redressed Megumin; she remained sleeping as I did. When I finished, I stared at her; a mixture of lewd and pure thoughts filled my mind, I shook my head free of all of them, and quickly slept with my back to her. I smiled briefly as I thought, _"finally, some progress"_.

**_-Next day…_**

When I awoke, I found Megumin still sound asleep; it was already around the midafternoon. I was still sort of tired, so I could only imagine how she felt. A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

"Kazuma-san." It was Yuiyui.

"Yeah, I'm awake," I replied drowsily.

"May I come in?"

I glanced over at Megumin and then apprehensively replied, "Sure."

Yuiyui came in and immediately shifted her attention to her daughter sleeping peacefully by my side; she gave a brief smile and then looked at me. "Do you intend to sleep the entire day away?"

I raised my brow. "Do you need something from me?" I asked out of politeness.

"Not particularly; I know Kazuma-san likes to take his time doing stuff so I'm not here to push you to do anything, just came to see how my daughter was doing."

Feeling somewhat bad for the irritation I felt a moment ago, I answered in a more noticeably well-mannered tone, "Don't let me stop you."

Yuiyui shook her head calmly. "I can see she's fine." She then smiled deviously. "You know Kazuma-san, the chief's daughter left in quite a hurry yesterday, her face was extremely red, and she was muttering something about obscenities coming from this room; you wouldn't happen to know why, would you?"

I looked away and then laid back down. "Yunyun may have misinterpreted something she saw or heard; she's quite sensitive to anything Megumin does, isn't she?"

Yuiyui timidly covered her mouth. "It's as you say, the chief's daughter is close to my daughters, particularly Megumin; you may be right, perhaps she thought she heard or saw something…but what exactly would she misinterpret?"

"…could be anything."

"Could be…she is quite odd…but has a level head as well. Could very well be she stumbled upon something she may have not been prepared to see."

"…I don't think she stumbled upon anything."

"That so?"

"Yunyun knocks before she enters, so it's not like she would've been surprised coming in."

"Unless she didn't this time."

"Why wouldn't she—anyways, what are you trying to insinuate?"

Yuiyui grinned. "Ahem…please be responsible, Kazuma-san."

I frowned; I was becoming irritable again. "I try to be…just always ends up being in vain."

Yuiyui laughed haughtily. "You **do** seem to be dragged into many issues not your own."

Sighing, I answered, "It gets tiring, you know?"

Yuiyui sighed as well. "I do." She stared at Megumin again, this time more seriously.

As she did, I interjected, "How long do you think she's gonna stay like this?"

"…hard to say, if she doesn't do anything reckless…perhaps a couple weeks."

"So, I suppose the attack on the castle is called off?"

"Postponed…as far as I know, the capital is beginning to mobilize its forces once again; unfortunately, I believe it won't be in position for at least a month."

What Yuiyui called unfortunate, I called a relief; Crimson Demons were after all a people who enjoyed showing off and what could be more showy than taking part in the battle against the Demon King. "Ah, how unfortunate indeed," I said with obvious sarcasm.

Yuiyui giggled at my response and then bowed slightly. "I suppose you two will have ample time," she said half-jokingly, "please by gentle with her, Kazuma-san."

"Oi, can you stop being so overt about selling Megumin off."

Yuiyui laughed abruptly, she quickly stifled it with a cough. "You know Kazuma-san, I was against it when I first heard about you," She said seriously.

I sat up. "Can't really say I'm surprised."

"It was Megumin that convinced me; I could see the excitement she felt talking about you, despite the flaws she mentioned her feelings never wavered." Yuiyui smiled as she recalled the memories. "It was one of the few times I could remember Megumin being so openly happy about something."

I looked over at Megumin who was still sleeping; I didn't show it, but I was sort of happy.

"Say, Yuiyui-san, mind if I cook?"

"Not at all, I've heard from Komekko that you cook quite well."

I grinned at the compliment. "Well I'll be a bit, gonna take a bath first, if you don't mind."

"Please, help yourself; I'll be downstairs if you need anything." Yuiyui promptly left.

After the door closed, I looked at Megumin once more. I reached out to stroke her hair but stopped; I quickly withdrew my hand and sighed, even something simple like this was becoming quite difficult to pull off. I got my spare clothes and headed for the bath.

**Part 4**

As the door closed, I opened my eyes. I couldn't help but smile; my chest felt tight and my stomach full of butterflies. Try as I could, the only thoughts that entered my mind were those of what happened yesterday. I wanted to clear my mind of it but not forget; usually, going out to use Explosion would be my remedy, but obviously something like that wasn't possible. I gripped my pillow tightly and curled up. There was so much downtime but virtually nothing I could do.

Looking down, I realized I was fully clothed; Kazuma must've redressed me. I smiled again and could feel myself grow slightly hot at the thought. I shook my head in frustration; I couldn't let myself be overwhelmed by the thought of him…by every little action, I wasn't a pup in heat. I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling…what could I do to speed up my recovery?

Perhaps, I could go to the school and look for some books on what plagued me, I would probably run into some of my friends; not a bad idea, it would help pass the time and I could probably learn of something to help me get better more quickly. As I got up and sat on the edge of the futon, I could see the stains on the sheets; clear reminders of what happened. I smelled myself and almost instinctually grimaced; I smelled of sweat and an oddly sweet-smelling musk.

I wanted to bathe but I knew Kazuma was in the bathroom; going now would just instigate something, and as much as I may have wanted to, I convinced myself otherwise. I laid back down on the futon and stared back up at the ceiling once more; gradually, I closed my eyes. I began focusing as I've done when channeling mana…slowly…I felt it trickling towards the center of my body…it burned as if any open flame followed closely through the flow, feeling this, I stopped; I was afraid of what would happened if I pressed further.

Not a moment later, my muscles ached, and I felt myself grow dizzy; dammit, I felt no discernable difference in my health. I rolled off the futon and stumbled to my feet. There was a small and slightly cracked mirror I used that rested on a small table, I walked over to it and stared at myself. In the reflection, I could see a small girl with shoulder-length white hair, and red eyes, she wore loosely fitting pink pajamas, her face was surprisingly full despite her frail disposition, but a slightly darkened shade hung under her eyes; indeed, this was the current me.

I touched the mirror as if I could reach out to my reflection and then sighed as I briefly closed my eyes. I quickly grabbed the locks of my hair and twisted them up to my eyes; the very tips were still stained red. I open the table's small drawer—the table itself was a paltry excuse for one of vanity—and withdrew some scissors. Placing them to the ends of my hair, I slowly closed them…I stopped before they cut; Kazuma likes long hair…I remembered he told me. I frowned at my own indecisiveness and placed the scissors on the table.

_"It's only the tips, Megumin, relax."_

I took the scissors once more and cut away at the tips of my hair; maintaining my hair wasn't something I was particularly adept at; it was one of the reasons I wasn't especially fond of long hair. I would often go weeks without doing much to it besides brushing and simple washing, occasionally, I would cut it to length; Aqua and—especially—Darkness constantly reprimanded me on my blasé approach to womanly care.

After cutting, I examined myself and took the brush from the drawer and gave my hair a few passes; I would be taking a bath shortly so giving it serious attention would be in vain. For some reason or another, this small exercise in maintenance made me smile. I put away the scissors and brush and closed the drawer. It had been a few minutes since Kazuma went to take a bath, perhaps he was finished already; he did say he wanted to cook, so I could imagine he didn't want to take to too long in the bathroom.

Going by this reasoning, I grabbed some clothes from one of the drawers; they were the new set that Kazuma bought, my underwear, however, were in Komekko's room.

I walked over to her room. "Komekko, you there?" I asked, through the door.

There was no response. It was the afternoon; Komekko was either out playing or eating, she wasn't really the type to stay home whenever someone else was present. I opened the door; the room was empty. I got what I came for and went to the bathroom. As I came to the door, I knocked.

"Kazuma, are you in there?" I questioned.

Again, no answer to my queries. I looked around rather nervously; taking a deep breath, I opened the door and walked in. I disrobed and dumped my dirty clothes in the basket. As I placed my clean clothes in one of the buckets, I grabbed a towel and wash cloth. Again (as I stood at the entrance proper this time) I called out, "Kazuma".

It garnered the same silent response as earlier. I opened the door…the bath was empty; I let out a sigh of relief, though, if I was honest, I silently wished it wasn't. After some minutes of prep, I sank into the hot bath and smiled at the warm respite it blanketed me in. Closing my eyes, I went over my plan once more; I would go to the school library and see if I could find anything to help me, if I met my friends along the way, all the better.

Suddenly, I heard the outer door to the bathroom open; my eyes quickly did the same as I sat up in the tub. "Busy!" I yelled.

"Huh, Megumin, is that you?" It was Kazuma's voice.

I lowered myself back into the water, letting it rise to my neck. "Umu…why are you here, Kazuma…d-do you intend to…do something else?"

"…uhhh, not really, just thought I forgot something."

I cleared my throat. "Did you find it?"

"Ah, yeah, was in my pocket; couldn't really find it the first time I looked for it. By the way, I'm making food so don't stay in too long, you hear?"

"Mhm…Kazuma!"

I heard him stop abruptly. "Yeah?"

I called out to him but I didn't know what to say…well, I knew what I **wanted** to say but I couldn't bring myself to say it; now that Kazuma actually did something to me…I felt…incredibly nervous and embarrassed whenever I thought about him; how frustrating, I wondered if he felt the same.

"Umm, nevermind…it's nothing."

I heard him sigh. "It's obviously something, what's wrong, Megumin?"

I shifted in the water; my thoughts were becoming incredibly lewd. "Uh-Uh—it's nothing…just…forget it."

"Hey, if you're feeling bad, tell me; the last thing I want is for you to pass out in the bath."

I squirmed slightly as I felt my breaths became more pronounced. "…I'll see you for dinner!" I announced.

"Uh…ok." The outer door opened and then closed shut.

I quickly stood up in the tub and hugged myself tightly, slowing my breathing down and calming myself in the process. As I stepped out of the bathtub, my knees buckled. I could feel shivers come over me in waves while warmth radiated from the center of my chest and the ends of my womb; this overwhelming feeling was an echelon higher than even the greatest feelings I had after casting Explosion; frankly speaking, it scared me…it was almost intoxicatingly good.

I swallowed deeply and paced my breathing once more; the feeling began to wane until it was almost completely gone. After trying to get it to go away, and failing, I gave up; the radiating warmth lingered in the background and my hands trembled slightly. I was young, but not completely naïve, this was excitement…sexual tension; it was something I had to ignore for the moment. After drying myself and getting dressed, I left the bathroom and went back to the room to brush my hair.

A few minutes later, I could smell the scent of cooked food, the sound of sizzling ingredients being mixed in pots and pans. I pounded on my chest to get rid of the lingering feelings of arousal but flinched at the pain I caused myself. Rubbing my chest, I made my way downstairs towards the kitchen. Kazuma was stood behind the stove making stir-fried rice, the pan on the next burner contained small cuts of sliced meats, another pot above it simmered with veggies.

"Ah, Megumin, wanna help me?" he asked with a smile; when Kazuma cooked he seemed to genuinely enjoy himself, this happiness was infectious and quickly rubbed off on those around him.

"Uhhh—actually I can't; I was planning on going to the school library," I replied while staring at Kazuma's masterful culinary skills.

"Oh? Reading, I didn't take you much for one to read, Megumin; I thought your head was full of ways to scam others and explosions."

I frowned. "Humph, Kazuma, you seem to forget that I'm the genius of the Crimson Demons; one doesn't achieve such acclaim with merely setting goals, even studying has its uses."

"Ehhh, I wasn't much for studying."

"Hmm, interesting, despite it you have fairly high intelligence; I could only imagine how high it would be of you actually applied yourself."

"Ugh, you're starting to sound like my mom. Anyways, it's fine, I have a genius like you around so I'm not too worried," Kazuma said, obviously mocking me.

"I'm just saying, its fairly impressive; you could've probably been a mage with a little more INT."

"Eh, probably." Kazuma emptied the rice into an open pot before quickly moving to the vegetables. "Well, I'm almost done with dinner, so if you're going to the library, best be back pretty soon, or you'll miss out; Komekko will show you no mercy."

"Ah, that's right," I said with a hint of nervousness; it was a very real possibility that I would be without food tonight if I came back too late.

"By the way, if you start feeling sick or something, be sure to let someone know, got it?" Kazuma said seriously, glancing over to me before looking back at the food he was handling.

I nodded. As I turned to leave, my mother appeared with a small tea set she placed on the table.

"Evening my daughter," She said, sitting down as she did.

I bowed my head slightly in reply.

"There are some things I wish to speak with you about, however, I heard you made plans; we'll talk later."

"Umu."

I gave her a quick hug and left.

While walking to the school, I saw Yunyun; she appeared distraught. Part of me wanted to ignore her, but the prevailing half convinced me to approach her.

"Yunyun," I called out from behind her.

Yunyun whipped around and pointed at me in horror. "M-Megumin!"

"What's wrong with you; you look like an Axis Cultist."

Yunyun quickly grabbed my robes. "Y-You, I can't believe you actually…to think that…"

_"Ah, now I see what this is about. _What are you on about, you odd child?" I said as I removed her hands from my robe.

"M-Megumin knows precisely what this is about!" Yunyun shouted, tears dotting the corners of her eyes.

"Is Yunyun upset about how quickly I've grown?" I said pompously; I smirked.

"S-So you did?!" She grabbed my robes once more, this time she pulled me closely to her.

"Ah—stop it," I said, fighting to get away from her grip. "I'm starting to regret coming over to you."

With a lot of effort, I managed to push her away from me. As I patted down my robes, I answered, "I already told you, me and Kazuma are boyfriend and girlfriend; things like that are commonplace for us," I lied.

Yunyun stood wide-eyed for several seconds and then began muttering incoherently.

"Anyways, Yunyun, that's not important; I'm headed to the library, care to join me?"

She collapsed to her knees hopelessly.

_"Ahhh, this girl…perhaps I was too rough on her; Yunyun's sense of imagination is her greatest enemy…no doubt years of crushing loneliness increased her aptitude to produce some wild imaginings."_

"The library?" Yunyun looked up, her face still harbored the expression of devastating despair.

"Umu, I intend to look into my affliction, perhaps I can find a cure or something."

Yunyun wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffled before getting to her feet. "Don't think this is done; I definitely don't agree with this behavior Megumin is taking…anyhow, I believe if Megumin applies herself, she's likely to discover something others haven't."

Me and Yunyun continued towards the school, the entire way she stared at me anxiously as if she wanted to desperately ask but never found the courage to.

"We're here," I said, looking at the exterior of the school; although it's only been a few months since my last visit, it was still somewhat nostalgic.

Me and Yunyun entered; since it was already evening, classes were already done which meant most of the people were gone. Only a few villagers were present using the facilities available in the school; the lab, the gymnasium, and what I came for, the library. As we walked through the library, we came across Arue who was looking through the historical section.

"Ah, looks who it is, Megumin and Yunyun; how do you do?" She said, placing the book she was looking through back on the shelf.

"Arue," I said, "what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same but more importantly, what's with the hair?"

I was confused for a brief second and then instinctively grabbed the bangs of hair. "I'm quite sick; I came here to look for a possible clue towards a cure."

Arue grinned. "I see, so you're awakening left you in this state…impressive."

"Always the sharp one, Arue; indeed, my awakening has caused me no end of trouble."

"W-wait," Yunyun interrupted, "this isn't due to some 'awakening', this is due to mana debt."

Arue looked at Yunyun and then back at me, she smirked. "Ah, Yunyun, this is why you were always behind Megumin and I and why both of you shall remain so; listen, this is clearly the result of releasing one's power to its utmost, such actions cannot be taken without consequence."

As I glanced over at Yunyun, she held the expression which said, 'she isn't wrong'. Arue continued.

"Clearly, the punishment is Megumin's snow white hair; a Crimson Demon with such light hair is an affront to coolness; it exemplifies Megumin's frailness."

"Gah!" Arue's tactful way of speaking shot me through the heart. "Yunyun…perhaps…she's right." I said, clutching my heart as I stared anxiously at her.

Yunyun stood with her mouth open, she appeared to be undergoing a nervous breakdown. "No!" she yelled, "No, t-this is clearly due to mana debt; Arue, stop filling her head with nonsense—"

"Nonsense?!" Arue said, she was very surprised by Yunyun's declaration. "Oh my, Yunyun, how far have you fallen; perhaps touring the outside world has weakened your already destitute levels of knowledge concerning our clan."

I touched Yunyun's shoulder and looked at her with pity. _"Such a sad creature, this girl._ Don't worry Arue, I'll continue to watch over her; perhaps someday I may find a cure to her oddness."

Yunyun shrugged me off. "Can you guys stop, there's nothing wrong with me; Arue, mana debt is a documented illness, even you must know that white hair is a side-effect."

"Death is also a side-effect," Arue replied curtly. "Megumin is clearly alive, which means it's not mana debt."

"I mean, sure, but—Megumin can't use magic at the moment, clearly that's enough proof!"

Arue shifted her attention to me and then back at Yunyun. "Ahem, I never said white hair was the only trade-off; inability to use magic is a steep penalty, but quite apt for reaching such peaks of mastery. No, in fact, I'm sure this is the true price."

"Now you're just adding things!" Yunyun shouted in desperation.

Arue waved Yunyun off and approached me. "This is the historical section; I doubt you'll find what you need here; look in the medical documents."

"S-So you agree that Megumin's illness is mana debt?"

"Good luck," Arue said, patting me on the shoulder and walking off.

Yunyun reached out toward Arue but fell to her knees with the same desperate look she gave me earlier. Ignoring her, I walked over to the aforementioned section and looked through various books and scrolls of old medicinal knowledge. After several hours of looking and reading, I was no closer to finding any worthwhile information; all of them basically outlined mana debt as a terminal illness or one that was unable to be 'fixed' by conventional means.

Defeated, I decided to return home for the day; it was already late in evening. Yunyun, who helped me with my endeavors, agreed, it was best to turn in for the day. She walked with me till she got to her house and bid me goodbye; I returned the gesture and after some minutes walking, arrived home.

"I'm home," I said as I walked in. Suddenly I remembered, I spent hours at the library and dinner was to be ready—at the latest—an hour or so after I left.

My stomach grumbled. "Guh…hungry."

Walking into the living room, I found my mother sat waiting; she had her eyes closed, but slowly opened them as I came into the room.

"Uh, Oka-san, what are you still doing out here?" I asked as I sat down next to her.

"I was waiting for you, dear."

I laid my head down on the table in exhaustion, my stomach growled once more. My mother smiled.

"Did Komekko eat everything?" I asked dejectedly.

"She almost did; lucky for you Kazuma-san managed to save a bowl, it's in the refrigerator."

I quickly got up and got my serving, after which, I returned to the table. My mother cast Tinder on the bowl.

"So," I said as I sat waiting for the food to heat up, "why'd you wait for me?"

My mother smiled and then stroked my head. "I was concerned about you; lately, you've been making me and your father more worried than usual."

I picked at the steaming food and began eating. "You don't have to be so worried about me, I'm an adult already."

She gently pressed her head to my own and hugged me. "Even so, you'll always be my little girl…I was afraid I lost you." I could feel her tremble at her mentioning.

I stopped eating and hugged her back. "I'm Megumin, daughter of Hyoizaburo and Yuiyui; I'm not so weak that I'll die to some stupid sickness, it'll take a lot more than that to do me in."

I could feel my mother hug me more tightly; she understood the truth as much as I did; I **did** die, I **was** done in by some 'stupid' sickness; it was only by miraculous intervention that I lived. She let go of me and sat up; I could see the tears in her eyes moments before she wiped them away.

"I won't tell you not to pursue your dreams but please my daughter, don't ever give us the grief of having to accept your death; I would rather die a hundred times than go through that."

I looked down for a second and then back at my mother. "I don't think I can fully understand the amount of pain it would cause you but if it's just a fraction of what I feel when I think about losing Kazuma…then I'll try my best not to let it happen."

She smiled and bowed her head lightly, "Thank you, my daughter."

As I continued to eat, my mother poured out a cup of warm tea; I graciously accepted it.

"By the way," she began, "I heard you and Kazuma-san were having sex."

I choked on my food as she said that; I pounded on my chest while my mother slapped me on the back; with a painful amount of effort, I managed to swallow the lump of food in my throat.

"Wha-Who-Who told you something like that?!"

"Is it true?"

"No—it's a lie; we've never had s-s-sex!"

My mother placed a hand over her mouth and giggled at my reaction after which, she sighed. "How unfortunate."

I frowned at her reply and continued eating. "You should really stop being so weird about me having physical relationships."

"But you're an adult now, aren't you; stuff like this is to be expected."

"S-Still…it's weird."

The room was silent for a couple minutes; only the sounds of me eating interrupted the odd stillness. "Is there anything you want to speak to me about?" My mother said.

"What about?" I replied, finishing the last bits of food.

"Well…about…adult relationships."

If I could see myself, I knew I would be incredibly red. "Ahem…not really."

My mother scoot closer to me. "What has Kazuma-san done to you?"

I pulled my hat down in embarrassment. "Really, ka-san? This isn't a discussion I want to be having with you."

She sighed deeply. "Fine…well have a good night," She said suggestively.

"I'm-I'm sick, have you forgotten?!" I protested.

She giggled. "Indeed, you are." She got up and left to her room.

After I finished the rest of my tea, I washed the dishes and headed up to the room. I knocked on the door and waited.

"Who is it?" Kazuma questioned, he sounded as if he just woke up.

"It's me," I replied.

"Ugh, one sec."

Couple seconds later, the door unlocked and opened. Closing the door behind me, I walked in to see Kazuma crawling back into the futon. The room was fairly dark so I stumbled cautiously towards the drawer, I opened it and pulled out a set of pajamas; these were, from what little I could see, red and silky to the touch. I quickly undressed—taking comfort in the darkness and the fact that I was behind Kazuma—and dressed myself in the pajamas; they were cool and comfortable.

I knelt down and felt my way towards the futon; I felt something large and heard Kazuma groan.

"Kazuma, this you?" I queried.

"Yes," he replied groggily; he reached out and pulled me down next to him. "Go to sleep already," He said, turning away from me.

I stared wide-eyed at the abruptness of what occurred but quickly calmed down; I cuddled closely into Kazuma's back, he jerked forward briefly, but settled into me.

"Good night," I whispered.

"…umu, good night."

**_-Next morning_**

I was awoken by the rays of light that poked through the window, squinting, I shielded my eyes and turned around; Megumin's body slumped forward, slightly pressing against my chest; she remained asleep. Wearily, I slipped out from under the covers and got up stretching, yawning as I walked over to door and headed to the bathroom.

After I finished going through the morning habits, I walked over to the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets in search for food. I could hear someone approaching; as I glanced over, I could see it was Megumin's mom.

"Morning, Kazuma-san," Yuiyui said. "Had a good night?"

I paused as I stared blankly at her, and then went back to looking through the cabinets. "It was fine," I replied trivially. Sighing, I pulled out the porcelain tea set and passed it over to her. "Man, I wish there was some cereal or something."

"I can make oatmeal if you'd like." Yuiyui said as she prepped the tea.

I sat down at the table and slumped in my chair. "Eh, I'm not opposed to the idea; sure, why not?"

After a couple minutes, Yuiyui brought out two bowls of oatmeal; she placed the spare bowl by my side and sat back down at the head of the table. She poured out some tea for herself.

"Two bowls?" I said, slightly confused. "And not yours…are we waiting for someone else?"

Just as I said that, Komekko jumped into the seat beside me and began scarfing down the contents in record time; before I could even recover from the surprise I felt, she was done.

"More!" She shouted happily, holding her bowl out to Yuiyui.

Her mother took it and returned with some more oatmeal, Komekko's routine continued till there was none left; meanwhile, I barely finished my own.

"Thank you, Oka-san!"

Komekko got out of her seat, bowed slightly, and ran off towards the back of the house; I assumed she was going out to the garden. As I sat back in my seat, I wondered about what to do; if I was back in Axel I could probably spend the day doing various things like going to the guild hall and having some drinks, playing some video games, or even visit the coveted café during night; however, here in the Crimson Village there was a limited amount of things available to me. While I continued to ponder, Megumin came downstairs; she was still in her sleepwear, wearily rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Morning," She said taking a seat next to me, she laid her head on the table.

"Oi, if you're just gonna fall back asleep what was the point in coming down here?" I said while peering out at her.

Megumin lazily turned her head towards me. "I'm planning on going to the library again."

Yuiyui interjected. "You went to the library yesterday?"

Megumin sat up and nodded.

"What did you read?"

"Was looking for something that might help me get better."

"Didn't the priest say just tons of rest and lazing about would help you get better?" I said with a brow raised. "If you ask me, I'd say that's a pretty good deal, not having to do anything and having everyone come to your attention." I leaned back in my chair. "Maybe I should get mana debt."

Megumin frowned. "It's not like I asked for this, Kazuma."

I glanced over at her and then sighed. Under normal circumstances I would've probably argued but the whole subject was touchy for all of us so, I dropped it.

"By the way, Kazuma, it's almost Darkness' birthday," Megumin said with a smile.

Thinking about it, I realized that Darkness' birthday was less than a week away. "Huh, so it is…should probably get her something."

"If you're gonna get her something, I wanna go too."

Yuiyui added, "It'd be a nice change of pace for the both of you; you'll be able to get out of the house and spend some time together."

"Yeah, Kazuma, what do you say?" Megumin asked excitedly.

"Sure, not a bad idea. I'm not even sure what to get her…eh, nevermind…I think I do."

**Part 5**

As we looked through the accessory shop, Megumin instantly grabbed the hem of my shirt.

"Kazuma, Kazuma!" she said, while pointing excitedly. "Look, a staff!"

"Eh, we came for Darkness' gift, not to buy you a new staff," I replied, pulling my arm away. "You can have a staff when you get better."

"B-B-But I'm practically fine already; it feels weird not to hold something in my hand."

"I wasn't the one who decided to destroy my previous staff for 'cool points'."

"It wasn't merely for cool points—"

"So, you admit it **was** for cool points."

Megumin pouted and then looked down defeated.

I sighed. "Try not to worry about magic for now; even if you did get a staff, you wouldn't find much use for it."

After giving it some thought, Megumin agreed sorrowfully.

"Anyways, I don't think we're in the right shop if I'm being honest."

"Huh, why do you say that?"

"Well, why get Darkness a weapon if she can't even hit anything with one; wouldn't a whip be a better gift?"

Megumin stared at me blankly but then cocked her head to the side in thought. "I mean…you're not wrong, but…I think Darkness isn't the type to inflict self-injury; she'd probably like it if someone used it on her though."

An odd thought of me whipping Darkness flashed through my mind for a brief second; I quickly shook free of the thought. Afterwards, me and Megumin continued looking through the various shops for something to get Darkness but nothing we came across, we felt, was good enough. As we were about to give up and leave one of the market stalls, Megumin stopped; she grabbed a necklace that had a familiar emblem at the end.

"Oi, Megumin, what's up, did you find something?" I said, walking up beside her. "Hey, that's an Eris Sect amulet, isn't it?"

"Mhm," Megumin affirmed.

"I thought Darkness already had one."

"She does."

"So, how is this one any different?"

Megumin held it up to me. "It has an insert; you can fit something in it."

"Ah, I see; do you have something in mind?"

"Mhm, I have just the thing." Megumin turned to the shopkeeper. "We'll take this one," she said as she exchanged money for the necklace. Megumin turned back to me and said, "I'll take care of the gift so don't worry about it; I'll tell her it was from us both."

"Uhh, ok," I said, scratching my head.

"I'm headed to the library now, so I'll see you later." Megumin smiled and waved goodbye as she ran off.

I looked up at the sky; we spent so much time looking for a gift it was already the midafternoon.

"Might as well buy some more ingredients for food while I'm here," I said to myself.

When I arrived back at the house, I made a simple dish consisting of rice and onion duck with some steamed vegetables. Like the day before, Megumin arrived late; however, I was still awake when she did.

I was lounging on the couch as she walked in. "Any luck?" I said.

Megumin slumped down at the end of the couch. "Nothing," she remarked. "Just more of the same; I tried getting into the forbidden section of the library but one of the teachers found me. They thought I was a student, so they let me off with a lecture." Megumin slumped lower as she recounted the last part.

I tried not to laugh. "Ahem…your food is in the fridge."

"I'm tired, can you feed me?"

"I'm tired too."

"But I'm actually tired."

"Tired enough to starve?"

"…maybe."

"…I'm not feeding you. If you want people to stop calling you a child, then stop acting like one; go feed yourself."

Megumin slumped over to my side and lay in front of me. "Uwah…I'm a baby…can you feed me now?"

I frowned at her and turned over. I felt Megumin place her head on my back.

"I'm tired," she whispered. "Kazuma, I'm drained…the last few weeks…"

I looked over my shoulder and could see the small mage staring melancholically.

"Yeah…I get it…so am I," I said as I looked forward and closed my eyes.

Megumin threaded her arms under my own and hugged me; she raised one to show me the amulet she made for the group, the one she showed me was mine; it bore the marks of hardship both, it and I, went through.

"Don't lose it," she said, "it's the only thing you have of me." She laid her head on my back once more.

I grabbed it and tucked it into my tracksuit.

After a few minutes of silence, I said, "Fine…I'll feed you."

**_-Eight days later…_**

The next few days were uneventful and filled with much of the same routines; Megumin spent most of her time in the library while I cooked and lazed about. However, today I wanted to do something slightly different; today I went to the blacksmith with the charred remains of Megumin's staff; it was the afternoon and Megumin already left with Yunyun to the library, so it was the perfect time for me to go.

"What do you mean, 'you can't repair it'?" I said with a bit of annoyance.

The smith stared at the remains and shook his head. "I can't repair something like this; I don't know what insane battle this thing was in but it's way too damaged for me to put back together."

I looked down disappointingly.

"Hmm, I can't repair it, but I can use it as part of a custom piece…hmm, yes, I can already envision a magnificent staff."

"Really?"

"Absolutely, just leave it to me; I'll make this staff the envy of even court mages."

"…wait a minute, what's the catch?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're a Crimson Demon, there's always something weird you guys end up doing."

"Weird?! You foolish boy, I'm the greatest blacksmith in all the village and you dare speak to me as if I were some bumpkin apprentice!"

"Oi, I'm just saying, there better not be some weird thing going on with the end product or I'm asking for a full refund."

"Refund?! As if, I ask for my payment upfront; even nobles come to me for their needs."

"…how much is it gonna be?"

The smith eyed the staff and then pressed a finger to his chin. "…two million eris."

"TWO MILLION ERIS?! Are you insane?! Give me the staff, I'll repair it myself."

The smith raised his hand to stop me. "Listen here youngling, I have it in me to make the best staff you've ever had the grace of laying eyes on; I promise, if you give me the opportunity, I can exceed your expectations."

"I'm not paying two million eris for something I'm not even sure how it'll turn out."

The smith stared at the staff once more and then back at me. "I know this staff…I was the one who made it long ago."

"R-Really?"

"Umu, I remember like it was yesterday, I was commissioned to make this staff for a powerful noble in the capital."

"No, I think you got the wrong staff. Listen, it's fine; I'll just find someone else to repair it." As I reached out, the blacksmith stepped back.

"N-No wait, I think it was a gift for a destitute monk out on the fringes—"

"Just give me the staff already, it's obvious you don't know what you're talking about."

"No, I'm pretty sure this was a family heirloom of some sort."

"It's not—I should've known it would end up like this—look, it's fine, I don't want the piece made; just give it back, ok?"

The blacksmith held onto the charred staff like it was his dear child. "Please, just let me make it."

"Oi, stop being unreasonable; give it back already."

As I advanced on him, the smith retreated until he could no more. He held out his hand to stop me once more.

"Wait, wait, I actually do know who this staff belongs to."

I stopped and frowned at him. "Give it up, it's obvious—"

"A pair of girls…Dodonko and…Funifura…they came to me some time ago and asked me to make it for a friend; the orb at the end was red, wasn't it?"

I stepped back and relaxed. "Oji-san, did you actually make it?"

The smith let of a sigh of relief. "I've been telling you that since the beginning."

"Then why make up—"

"Make up? All of those stories were true, when you get as many clients as I do, you tend to mix them up…ahem, anyways, it breaks my heart to see something I made in such condition."

"I'm not paying two million eris though."

The smith cast an unassuming glance at me and then stared at the staff. "I'll make it and have you tell me what it's worth; if you don't buy it, I'll keep it, deal?"

"…I suppose. So, how long will it take?"

"Hmm…a couple months…probably."

"A couple of months; can't you make it any sooner?"

"Sure, but it'll cost you; after all, I **am** the number one smith in the village; you're not my only customer."

"Tch, fine, I'll pick it up in a couple of months."

I returned to Megumin's house and entered; to my surprise, Aqua and Darkness were seated in the living room speaking with Yuiyui.

"Ah, look who's returned," Yuiyui said, turning her attention to me; the others did the same.

"Hey, I didn't expect you guys; who brought you back, Yunyun's with Megumin," I queried; I took a seat on the couch beside Darkness.

"Geez thanks, Kazuma, I know you miss me," Aqua said proudly; a large bottle of alcohol lay on her arm.

"Wiz dropped us off," Darkness answered.

"Wiz?" I said with some surprise.

Aqua explained, "Yeah, that accursed devil in the shop kicked her out for some time; she even came with me and Darkness to her birthday party."

"Ah right, it was your birthday, Darkness." She smiled faintly while looking away. "You should've said something."

Darkness spoke. "Well, I don't really like celebrating my birthday. Besides, we all couldn't go, someone had to stay with Megumin."

"Eh, yeah I suppose." I cast a quick glance a Yuiyui, she did the same.

"We heard no weird stuff happened between you two while we were away," Aqua said, taking a sip of whatever alcohol filled the bottle. Her eyes narrowed with doubt.

"Oi, what's with that look?" I exclaimed.

"Humph, I honestly don't believe it for a second; you two have been getting quite close and knowing you, I wouldn't be surprised if you made a move on Megumin."

Yuiyui giggled.

I frowned. "Maybe you should've stayed in Axel."

"I'm still missing my double allowance you promised **and **the liquor!"

"Spoken like a true free loader; you're lucky I'm even giving you anything, you bum goddess."

Aqua gasped and sat up, pointing at me. "I wouldn't even be in this predicament if it wasn't for you; the least you could do is take care of me till this is over!"

"Oi, whose fault do you think this is. Anyways, if you did your stupid party tricks you wouldn't even have to ask me for money."

"I don't do things on demand—"

"Unless there's money or booze involved."

"Whatever, Kazuma; you're not one to speak, you won't move unless there're little girls you can harass."

"You-You-You take that back!"

Aqua stood smiling pompously at my reaction. "Yuiyui-san, please look after Komekko-chan, I have no doubt this boy will—"

"Oi, oi, don't even joke like that! Komekko-chan is the wonderful little-sister type, that's all."

Aqua looked at me disgusted.

I looked at Darkness, she swiftly avoided my gaze. "Oi, stop it, I'm not a lolicon." I said dejectedly.

Yuiyui giggled again.

After some hours of talking, playing, and cooking, Megumin returned home with Yunyun in tow.

"Oh, Aqua, Darkness, when'd you guys come back?" I said in surprise.

"Ah, Megumin, Yunyun, won't you join us; we're doing a little celebration for Darkness," Kazuma said; by the amount of empty cups, I could tell he was slightly inebriated.

"Hmm, sure."

I sat between Darkness and Aqua, both were drunk, Aqua noticeably more. Yunyun took a seat across from me.

"Megumin," Yunyun whispered loud enough for me to hear, "we shouldn't drink."

I waved her off. "It's fine, not only am I old enough to drink, I'm also at home; plus, you're not drinking so you can look after me should something happen."

Yunyun looked at me with a mixture of surprise and frustration. "Why do I always have to look after you; try to be responsible for once."

"Yunyun is always so uptight; this isn't a bar or the guild hall, this is my home; if I can't feel safe drinking here where else would I?"

Yunyun raised her voice till it was barely even discernable to a normal speaking volume. "It's precisely because it's your home that it's dangerous for you to be drinking."

"Yunyun, what are you trying to say?" I said with a glare.

She leaned over the table in front of her and said in an exasperated tone, "If you get drunk with K-Kazuma around, who-who knows what you guys will do."

I leaned over the table as well, our faces were nearly touching. "It must've been you who said such ridiculous things to my mother, have you no shame!"

Yunyun shrunk away and twiddled her fingers in embarrassment. "I-I-I don't know what I saw!" She closed her eyes and threw her hands over her face; Yunyun was glowing red.

"Eh, what are you two arguing about?" Kazuma said, as he poured out another glass for himself.

"Nothing," I replied, grabbing the cup.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?"

"Hmm?" I sat back on the couch and took a heavy sip from the cup. I licked my lips and smiled. "I'm just taking what you offered."

Kazuma stared at me in mild bewilderment. "I never said that was for you." He poured out another cup. "You shouldn't drink anyways."

"Thanks, Kazuma," Aqua said, drunkenly grabbing the cup.

"Oi!"

I giggled as I took another sip. The night continued with us joking and drinking merrily, even Yunyun had a couple. Eventually, Aqua and Kazuma passed out and Darkness dozed off on the couch; me and Yunyun were still awake; admittedly, I was far drunker than her.

"Yunyun!" I yelled unnecessarily loud. "You-You still here?"

"I-I'm still here, Megumin," she replied. "You should really stop drinking now."

"Sh-Shh-Shuh-Shhhh…you're being…being so loud, Yun…yun…ughhh."

"*Sigh* you always end up like this whenever you drink."

"Yunyun…Yunyun…do you…heh." I stood up and nearly fell over; Yunyun quickly got up to help me, but I stuck my hand out. "I'm fine, I'm fine, Yunyun…Crimson…don—don't get drunk…ughhh." I leaned on the table and could feel a cold sweat building on me.

"Megumin, really, you should stop now," Yunyun said, as she rubbed my back.

I slapped her arm away and stumbled backwards some. Pointing angrily at Yunyun, I shouted, "I challenge you, Yunyun!"

"Wha—N-No, Megumin, now's definitely not a good time; I wouldn't feel right beating you—"

"Bah—you beat me?! How audacious! Ughh…when I win…you'll have to drink as much as I tell you to…if- if, by chance, you win…ughhh…I'll-I'll tell you…what happened…that day." I smirked sickly as I tried to keep my balance.

Yunyun stared at me, I could see a slight blush build on her as both our eyes went red with excitement.

She smiled nervously. "Very well, Megumin, I accept your challenge!"

"Hah, very good; the challenge is…whoever throws up first wins!"

"Wha, no—wait, that's totally unfair!"

I cackled as I grabbed my cup and poured more alcohol into it; the scent permeated my senses and caused me to gag. Yunyun quickly grabbed two cups and filled them as quickly as she could spilling alcohol in the process. As she tried to down them as quickly as possible, I pressed the cup to my lips and instantly threw up; I felt myself stumble backwards and fall over.

"Ughhhhh, I, I win…"

**_-Morning…_**

"Oi, Megumin, wake up," I said, shaking the small-framed mage. Her eyes slowly opened. "Oi, I see you went overboard again."

She pulled her hat down and clasped her hands over her ears. "…too loud, Kazuma," She whispered weakly.

I laughed. "This is why I tell you not to drink; go take a bath while I make some coffee."

"Ugh…is Kazuma planning on doing something lewd to me while I bathe?"

"Eh—n-no…I think Darkness, Aqua, and Komekko are gonna take a bath now; I figured it'd probably work out for me if all you took one all at once."

Megumin raised her hat and stared dubiously at me. "Ah…Kazuma, I didn't take you for a pedophile, then again—"

"Oi, can you guys stop calling me that…it **does** hurt, you know."

She smiled and stumbled to her feet. Megumin made a motion as to grasp a staff and nearly fell forward.

"Ughh, my staff…I want it back," she said with an almost monotonous tone, sniffling at the end.

As she staggered off, I woke Yunyun.

"Yo, Yunyun, if you wanna take a bath, you should probably do it soon; all the girls are going to."

"K-Kazuma-kun?" she said, rubbing her eyes. "Where am I?"

"Uh, Megumin's."

She quickly sat up with her eyes wide-open. "Wha-What happened?" She shouted nervously.

"What do you mean? You must've passed out sometime last night."

Yunyun blushed intensely. "Af-After what…exactly?"

"Uhhh, I'm not really sure, probably some drinking game with Megumin or something."

After some seconds of thinking, Yunyun let out a breath of relief. "Right, right, now I remember; where'd you say Megumin was?"

"She was headed for the bath."

Yunyun stared at me with the same dubious look Megumin had, except her face was tinged a rosy red.

"Ah, I know what you're thinking, I'm making coffee."

Yunyun furrowed her brow. "I seem to recall a similar situation in which my trust was betrayed."

"Hey, I get it, do you also remember how that ended; I don't wanna end up like that again."

A few seconds passed before Yunyun sighed and relaxed. "Kazuma-kun has been quite…perverted, lately."

"Look, I promise I won't do anything; Komekko's gonna be in there anyways."

"S-So, that means Komekko is our saving grace?"

"…I'm gonna make the coffee now."

True to my word, I didn't peek or go out of my way to do anything lewd despite the golden opportunity. The girls finished their bath and had a quick breakfast I made in the interim. Afterwards, I took my own bath and came out to the living room where they were all having a chat.

"Ah, there he is," Megumin said with a smile; apparently, she was feeling better.

"Hmm, kind of afraid to ask, but what does me being here have to do with this conversation?" I said, crossing my arms.

Darkness spoke, "Thank you, Kazuma…Megumin; it's beautiful, I'll cherish it." Darkness held the necklace that Megumin bought form the marketplace; in its center, was Megumin's group amulet.

"Ah, Darkness!" Aqua said excitedly, "I got you a necklace too!" She pulled out one with an Axis Cult emblem. "Now you can get rid of that ugly Eris Cult one."

"Ah, thanks…Aqua," Darkness said somewhat timidly. "I'll…keep it…somewhere…" Aqua stared at Darkness with increasing worry. "I'll keep it somewhere nice!" Darkness shouted adamantly.

Aqua smiled brilliantly and clasped her hands together. Watching this scene, I couldn't help but feel bad for Darkness.

The days went by and soon weeks, and then a month; the Archpriest from the capital, Levitz, visited Megumin and did a checkup. His diagnosis was positive stating Megumin's rate and level of recovery were nothing short of miraculous. To back this up, Megumin's hair was already returning to normal, with most of the white hair she had being replaced by her regular, jet black. After this, I went out with Megumin daily to watch her as she slowly retrained her body to handle mana once more.

Nearly another month passed; Darkness and Aqua returned to Axel once more during this period, leaving me to watch over Megumin once more. It was already the summer season and the Eris (and Aqua) Cultural Festival was happening within a few days; during this time, I received word from Yunyun that the attack was going to commence sometime after the festival. Which meant, there was only a few more weeks of peace before the final showdown.

By this time, Megumin was practically fully recovered; Levitz made another appearance confirming this to be the case, even going so far as to say Megumin was more capable now than before; I guess we'll see.


	7. Chapter 6: The End of Festivities

**Chapter 6: The End of Festivities **

**Part 1**

"Finally!" Megumin yelled. "I can channel mana without any pain." She beamed at me as she said so, flexing her arm in the process.

"Well, that's good…I guess," I replied somewhat trivially.

"You guess?!" Megumin scowled.

"It just means I have to deal with you and your explosions now." I sighed.

For Megumin's training we headed a bit north of the village near the fields.

"Ah, by the way," she said, calming down a bit, "didn't you say I can get a staff once I got better?"

"Umu…I **did** say that, didn't I?" I rubbed my chin.

"You did!" Megumin pointed aggressively at me.

"Ah, so I did." I shrugged. "Well then, let's go see if they have a staff that's good enough for the number one Explosion Archmage."

Megumin gave me a childish smile I haven't seen in quite some time. We headed back into town and towards the weapon shop; she walked ahead of me barely able to contain her excitement. I smiled faintly as I followed behind her; I felt happy for some reason…maybe it was the relief of the incredible stress I had concerning this girl for the past month or so. In any case, I was happy, and my chest radiated with warmth as I watched her excitedly look forward to getting something she wanted for a while now.

The bell above the door rang as we stepped in.

The shop owner quickly yelled, "Welcome—ah, wait, no, I recognize you two." He quickly sighed and slumped over the counter. "What can I get you?"

Megumin ran up to him. "A manatite staff; the best one you got!"

"Ah, wealthy customers, alright…give me a second." He disappeared to the back of the shop for a few minutes and returned with an intricately inlayed staff. "Here you go, the finest staff I have on hand."

Megumin almost blew steam from her nose with how excited she was; she immediately grabbed the staff and showed it to me. "Look, Kazuma, I can feel the flow of mana running through the staff, the wonderful ivory bark that's been sanded down to perfect grits, the rune inlays that accentuate mana compression, the—"

"We're not taking it," I said curtly.

Both Megumin and the shop owner looked at me in complete bewilderment.

"Not taking it?" Megumin said, stepping back in surprise. "Why?"

I grabbed the staff and handed it to the owner. "This isn't good enough for my companion," I said sternly.

Momentarily stunned by my declaration, the weapon shop owner stared at me and the staff in his hand. "I, I don't understand, is this some sort of joke?" he said with increasing anger, his eyes began glowing in accordance.

Megumin quickly stepped between me and the owner. "Uh, please forgive him, he doesn't know a thing about magic—"

"But I know enough this isn't good enough…not for you." I stared at Megumin seriously; she stared back wide-eyed. She blushed and looked down in embarrassment.

"Wha-What are you talking about, Kazuma, th-this staff is—"

"Sorry, Oji-san, we won't be taking it," I interrupted; I grabbed Megumin by the hand and walked out with her in tow.

"Wha-what are you doing, Kazuma? I thought we were gonna get me a staff?"

"Umu, we are," I said as pulled her behind me.

"I-I don't understand," Megumin replied, "the store—where are we going?"

A few minutes of walking later, we arrived at the blacksmith.

"Oi, Oji-san, you there?" I said as I pounded on the door.

Seconds later, the smith opened the door. "Ah, if it isn't the fastidious lad from some time ago."

"I know I came a bit early."

"That you did…luckily for you, I'm not called the number one smith in the village for nothing; I just finished it, and damned if I say I didn't do a great job on her."

Megumin grasped my hand tightly. "Kazuma, you—" Before she could say more, I pulled her into the shop.

"Alright, let's see it and remember our deal," I said as I crossed my arms.

The smith smiled proudly and walked to the back of the shop, moments later he returned with a closed box and handed it to me. "Take a look," He said, crossing his own arms.

"Eh, this box looks kinda small though, Oji-san."

"Don't worry about such trivialities, go ahead and open it."

I was starting to get a bad feeling but opened the box anyways. Both, me and Megumin's jaws dropped as the smith stared with a proud smirk.

"Well, what do you think?" He asked.

"Wha-What the hell is this, Oji-san; why the hell is it so small?"

"And why is it pink?!" Megumin interjected.

"Huh?"

"Oi, Oji-san, I asked you for a staff not some damn wand," I exclaimed.

"Ah, wait—"

"Kazuma, Kazuma, if we head back to the weapon shop, we can go get the staff," Megumin said, pulling on my sleeve.

I sighed deeply. "Dammit, Oji-san, if you were gonna mess up, you should've just told me from the start." I handed the box back the smith and turned around. "Come on, Megumin."

"Oi…wait."

We exited the shop only to have the smith burst through the door after us. "Wait!" He yelled.

I turned around slightly annoyed. "What is it?"

"S-Sorry," he said. "I made a mistake."

"Of course you did; you made a major blunder—"

"No, I mean…I made a mistake with the order; it was the wrong box. Let me go get the actual one while you guys wait inside."

"I'm not sure how much I trust your judgement, Oji-san."

"Hey, I already told you, when you get as many clients as I do, you tend make some mistakes."

"You know saying stuff like that doesn't really help your case."

The smith went to the back of the shop while we waited inside. A few minutes later he returned with a same-looking, albeit, larger box.

I glanced over at the smith as I held onto the box.

"Well, go on," He said, proudly crossing his arms once more.

I sighed and then took a deep breath; I opened the box. "…Oji-san…"

"Heh, heh, what do you think—wait, it's the right one this time, right?" He said slightly nervously.

The box contained a staff made of reddened wood with gold embroidery, charred wood coiled through its construction; a large red orb, cut to a teardrop shape, was housed within the top coils of the staff, enclosing it.

Megumin grasped the staff and pulled it from the box, staring in awe.

"You still have to infuse it with your mana for it to work but I hope you like it," the smith informed.

"What do you think, Megumin?" I said.

She turned to me with tears brimming, "It's perfect…it's perfect; I can feel my old staff in this…the intricacies…the efficiency…the beauty…thank you."

I felt embarrassed by her honesty and cleared my throat before turning to the smith. "Two million…as promised," I said, withdrawing the bag from my satchel.

The smith held out his hand; I looked at him in confusion. "You never said it was for a Crimson Demon; as per discount, it'll only be one & half million."

"Eh…thanks…I guess."

"Wha-Wha—how much you paid for this?!" Megumin yelled in astonishment.

"Eh, it's fine, Megumin."

"N-N—are you insane, Kazuma?!" Megumin turned to smith. "Oji-san, I can pay a portion of this and I'm willing to work here to pay this off—"

"Nevermind her," I said, pushing Megumin behind me. "Here's the agreed amount."

The smith laughed heartily. "I see, is she your girlfriend?"

Me and Megumin paused for a second. "Y-Yeah…she is," I said looking slightly away; I could feel the warmness of my ears and face.

"I see she's also the owner of the previous staff; it's no wonder it was destroyed, only a Crimson Demon can be capable of such a feat." Turning his attention to Megumin, he squinted. "Oi, wait…you're Hyoizaburo's daughter, aren't you?"

Megumin stepped beside me and flicked her mantle as she posed. "That's right, I am Megumin, daughter of Hyoizaburo and Yuiyui, number one Archwizard of Axel…" As Megumin went on, she shook her staff every which way as she posed.

"Oi, Megumin, watch out—"

THWACK!

As we walked back to her house, I rubbed my swollen cheek.

"S-Sorry, Kazuma," Megumin said dejectedly; she followed closely behind me.

"Gah, it hurts," I said with tears beading my eyes.

Megumin stepped in front of me and spread out her arms to stop me; I did.

"What is it?" I said in mild annoyance.

"S-Sorry," She said again.

"I heard you the first ten times."

Megumin quickly stepped forward and grabbing my shoulders, pulled me lower; I felt her lips lightly touch my cheek. She stepped away and smiled.

I stared at her in brief surprise. "Ah, I think you made it worse; why would you think kissing it would make it any better?"

"K-Kazuma," she said, "you're really good at killing the mood, you know?"

"What mood, you hit me with your damn staff."

"It-It's not like I did it on purpose!"

I sighed. "Hmm, I think it actually feels better." I turned slightly away and looked out the corner of my eye; Megumin looked down with a smile.

After a few minutes, we reached her house. I immediately plopped down on the couch. Seconds later Megumin pressed a small cloth with ice on my cheek.

"Sorry," She said again.

"Hey, it's fine already," I replied, wincing directly after.

Megumin laid her staff against the couch as she continued holding the cloth; she remained silent as she did.

"It's almost the Eris Festival," I said, trying to break the silence.

"…It's almost your birthday," Megumin replied with a faint smile.

"Ah, yeah…crazy…it's almost been two years."

Megumin rested her forehead on my own, her eyes were closed. "Thank you," She said, tears trickling from her clenched eyes. She dropped the cloth and hugged me.

I was stunned; occasionally Megumin would act in a manner I couldn't really predict, and it made me freeze up, this time was no different.

"Thank you, Kazuma," She said once more, pulling away from me; tears ran down her cheeks.

"M-Megumin, why?"

"For everything…I don't know where I'd be if I never met you; all this time…I've never been happier."

Such heartfelt feelings…it was the type of thing I couldn't really handle; maybe owning to my restrictive life, I wasn't really used to genuine praise, much less from a girl, and even less from one who bore feelings for me.

"You-You shouldn't say stuff like that; a guy can get the wrong—"

"Kazuma…I love you."

I swallowed deeply. "Oi, what's bringing this on?"

Megumin laid her head on my chest. "I just wanted to say it before it was too late; the Demon King, we're fighting him soon…I don't know what'll happen afterwards."

_"Ah right, the Demon King…I forgot."_

"I love you," she repeated, "whatever happens, I love you."

I knew she could hear my rapid heartbeat as her head laid on my chest; although my emotions were something I could hide superficially, I couldn't internally. Her words, those words, the realness of them, it was something that I thought I was immune to; I thought after my emotions were crushed all those years ago, I was done. I couldn't reply, I didn't; I just laid in silence, frozen in shock by the things Megumin was saying, had said.

After some moments, Megumin sat up. "Kazuma…what do you want for your birthday?"

I glanced at her and then at the ceiling. _"What do I want…"_

"Something you won't forget…something you can remember me by."

I looked at her uneasily, she stared back unwaveringly. "…what can you get me…any—"

"Don't say 'anything'…it doesn't count," she interjected with some anger. After a few seconds, her expression softened. "Kazuma, it's important." She grabbed my hand with both of hers.

I looked away in embarrassment and closed my eyes. "I don't know," I said in a low tone. Before Megumin could say anything, I continued. "I don't know what I want…what I want from you…it almost seems obvious but…_the more I think about it…it just doesn't seem real;_ _it almost feels like a copout._"

"But…am I…not good enough?"

I quickly opened my eyes and looked at her; Megumin stared back with a very weak smile, the stream of tears that dried up began flowing once more.

I sat up. "You never cease to amaze me," I replied, "even at times like this you say such silly stuff; of course you're 'good enough', if you weren't, would I call you my girlfriend?" Megumin's eyes widened. "I…don't know what you can get me…that's your job to figure out, right? So, stop offloading all the difficult things on me." I crossed my arms and looked away slightly.

"Ah, you're right," Megumin answered as she got to her feet, she wiped away the tears from her face. "I'll get you a worthy gift, Kazuma." She said, smiling.

I returned the smile with my own and got up as well. "Come on, it's time to head back home."

After we packed, we said goodbye to Komekko, Megumin's parents were out for their end-of-month sales so we couldn't bid them farewells.

"Bye, Onee-chan, Onii-chan," Komekko waved as we walked off toward Yunyun's house.

"Take care and behave!" Megumin shouted as she waved back.

Komekko gave a wide and childish smile.

With us finally arriving at Yunyun's house, Megumin knocked; a moment later, Yunyun opened the door excitedly.

"Hah, oh, hi, Megumin," She said with a hint of disappointment.

"What's with that tone?" Megumin replied in slight annoyance.

"Ah-Ah, nothing; do you guys need something?"

"We were just wondering if you could teleport us back to Axel," I answered.

"Oh—um, sure; I was actually planning to go visit."

"Oh," Megumin said with a smirk, "has Yunyun found someone to call her own?"

Yunyun frowned at Megumin as she blushed. "N-Nothing like that; it-it's just been a while since I've gone."

Yunyun stepped out and after giving a quick chant, we arrived in front of Axel's guild hall. The city was filled with market stalls and the roads were crowded with various people. Axis cultists ran every which way trying to trick others into joining.

"_Some things never change…_hmm, now that I think about it, Darkness and Aqua must be busy working at the festival," I said as I looked around.

"Oh, I thought you knew," Megumin informed, "they said they were heading back early because of it."

"Well, it's not like you guys ever tell me anything."

"Most of the time you don't wanna hear it."

"Hmm, you're right. Let's head back to the mansion and drop off these things." Turning my view towards Yunyun, I gave her thanks and went on my way with Megumin.

Because of the amount of people in the streets, getting home took slightly longer than usual, but eventually, we arrived. As we walked in, Chomusuke scratched at Megumin's feet.

"Chomusuke," She said, pressing the small creature to her cheek. It gave her a purr and climbed into her robe.

I sighed deeply. "Wooh, feels like it's been forever since I've been here."

"Umu, it feels good to be back home." Megumin collapsed on the couch with a smile.

"Don't forget to unpack, Megumin," I remarked, taking my own luggage to my room.

"I don't have anything to unpack, remember?" Megumin replied as she lounged on the couch. "I left my stuff here and the rest I bought at the village."

"Ah, right." As I stepped into my room an oppressive heat flowed out instantly causing me to sweat. "Woah, what the—it's hot as hell in here!"

Since no one was in the house, the heat in our rooms must've built up; I quickly cast Freeze on the window and closed the curtains. After putting away my luggage I sprawled out on my bed and sighed in relief.

_"Man, it feels like I've been through hell and back; how I've missed the comfort of my own bed and home."_

"Kazuma," Megumin said as she stood at my door with Chomusuke, "can you cool my room down; it's really hot."

Chomusuke jumped off her and climbed onto my chest where it curled up comfortably.

"Eh, sure, I guess." I sat up, apologizing to Chomusuke. "Sorry, little guy."

Arriving at Megumin's room, the situation was the same; I employed the same methods of cooling I did to my own room.

"There," I said, applying the finishing touches. "You know, would be a lot easier if you just learned some other magic." I said, turning to Megumin.

"Ahah, is that what you want?!" Megumin said as if she just found the answer to a riddle.

"N-No, that's not what **I** want; just saying, if it's something **you** decide it would…look, just forget it; I have an idea for the heat anyways. I'm gonna get some rest, so try not to be a bother, okay?"

I walked back to my room; it was noticeably cooler. I changed into my tracksuit and laid on the bed; soon enough exhaustion took over and I fell asleep.

**_-Next morning_**

I woke up the next morning, to my surprise no one actually bothered me…or so I thought; as I stared at myself in the mirror, I could see various childish markings drawn all over my face.

"Oi!" I yelled, running out into the living room where the girls were lounging. "What the hell is this?!"

Aqua snickered as she turned her attention to me. Megumin and Darkness merely glanced before returning to their idle activities; Megumin playing with Chomosuke, Darkness looking over some documents.

"Seems like someone had a bit of a laugh," Megumin commented offhandedly.

"I think it makes you look like a gentleman, Kazuma," Darkness said with a light giggle; she was remarking on the 'monocle' drawn around my eye.

"Oi, someone better fess up before I start doling out punishments," I said threateningly.

"Hey, Kazuma, we should probably go to the festival today," Megumin suggested, completely ignoring my previous remark.

"Hey, I'm serious here; if someone doesn't take responsi—"

"The festival has been quite taxing this year thanks to the Axis Cult," Darkness said with a small sigh.

"What about the Axis Cult?!" Aqua retorted, frowning at Darkness.

Darkness smiled nervously. "It's not a slight against you, Aqua."

Somewhat satisfied with Darkness' reply, Aqua turned back to drinking some tea she prepared.

"DRAIN TOUCH!"

Megumin yelped in surprise while Darkness' initial surprise turned into a wailing moan.

"It was Aqua, Aqua drew those things on you!" Megumin quickly shouted.

"Ah, Megumin, you little traitor!" Aqua said angrily.

I released the other two and turned my attention to Aqua. "Oh, look what I found," I said, withdrawing a black permanent marker from my tracksuit.

"Wa-Wait, Kazuma!" Aqua said throwing up her hands in defense as I slowly walked towards her. "Ka-Ka-Kazuma-san, you can forgive a couple silly drawings." Seeing me continue to steadily advance on her, Aqua began to desperately lean back, looking for a way out. "S-Stop, Kazuma, K-Kazuma-san!"

A few minutes later, Aqua sat rubbing her eyes while sobbing, her face covered in insults and demeaning words and markings. Satisfied with my punishment, I sat down on the couch beside a slightly nervous Megumin.

"So, what's this about the festival?" I said, tossing the marker aside.

**Part 2**

Darkness, who was still breathing heavily from the earlier Drain Touch, sat up and spoke. "It could be a good idea to have you man some stands this year, Kazuma; it's the last two days, wouldn't you like to do something?"

"Hmm, I guess it's not a bad idea; sure, I'll help sell some food this year too."

"You did that yakisoba last year; do you have something new in mind?"

I grinned. "Darkness, you know I'm good when it comes to cooking and I still have some things from my home country I haven't made."

"Megumin," Darkness said with a serious tone, "please don't use your explosion magic; it was a pain having to file the paperwork to get you released."

"Wha—but I got this new staff I wanted to try out," Megumin replied dejectedly.

"You'll just have to hold off for the moment, Megumin," I said. She stared sadly at the ground. "Hey, don't worry, I'll go with you after the festival," I added.

She looked up at me and smiled. "You promise?" She said.

"Yeah, why not."

Megumin gripped her staff and grinned. "Ok, I'll hold off for now."

Aqua stood up and pointed angrily at me, shouting, "If Kazuma goes to the festival, I forbid him from helping out the Eris Cult!"

"That's unreasonable, Aqua," Darkness replied flatly.

"He should repay me for what he's done to my face!"

"Oi, you were the one who wrote on **my** face first, remember!" I said, my brow twitching.

"But your face isn't anything special; what you've done to me is first-class defamation and sacrilege!"

"Ah, you almost say it as if you were sort of goddess."

Aqua almost gasped in surprise. "I **am** a goddess, you shitty hikkiNEET!"

"Aqua, you should really stop going around saying such things; people will start to take notice and might start to pity you," Megumin said.

"Me-Megumin, don't tell me you believe him?!"

Megumin stared at Aqua silently.

Aqua stumbled back in despair, she quickly looked at Darkness. "How about you, Darkness, certainly **you** believe I'm a goddess."

Darkness looked away slightly and shot pitying glances at Aqua.

"I-I can't believe you guys, what part of me isn't magnanimous and magnificent?" Aqua smiled proudly, chest puffed out, hands on her hips.

The room went silent. She looked around despairingly; Megumin completely avoided her gaze, while Darkness looked away shyly, smiling faintly every so often. I stared blankly at her.

Aqua began whimpering and then bawled out loudly. "I-I can't believe you guys, I'll-I'll curse you all!"

"Well that's an empty threat," I said, "clearly the curse is already in effect with you being here."

Aqua cried even louder grabbing my collar and shaking me furiously.

"Oi, get off you freakishly strong idiot!" I grappled to break free from her; after a few attempts, I finally did. "Geez," I said, fixing up my shirt.

"Emperor Zell is the only one who really understands me!" Aqua said behind sniffles; she grabbed the chicken and ran upstairs to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Sometimes I feel like she's the child of this group," I said with a sigh. "Anyways, we should go if we're planning on doing anything today."

"Well, actually, Kazuma, it's kind of early; the stalls start selling closer to the afternoon," Darkness informed.

"Hmm, that's good then; it'll give me time to go visit Wiz's shop."

"Wiz's, are you planning on buying something?" Megumin asked.

"Eh, not really, have some stuff to discuss with Vanir though. I'll meet up with you guys later."

With that said, Megumin and Darkness departed while I cleaned up my face and changed into my adventurer's clothes. Soon after, I left for Wiz's shop, but not before knocking on Aqua's door.

"Oi, Aqua, I'm headed to Wiz's, wanna come?"

As expected, she gave no answer.

"Oi, stop being a little kid."

"Shut up, go away!" Aqua yelled.

"*Sigh* whatever then, you'll know where I'll be at."

I left the mansion and within in some minutes of walking, arrived at the slightly hidden shop of the undead novelty shop owner, Wiz and her shop assistant, the Devil, Vanir.

As the doorbell rang, Vanir stepped from behind some nearby shelves and said, "Ah, if it isn't the brat whose done some questionable stuff to a once ill Crimson Demon girl; welcome back."

"Oi, not so loud," I whispered, looking around nervously.

"Moi assures you, no one of import is within the shop."

As Vanir said this, Yunyun stepped around the corner of an opposite set of shelves; she was holding a large box in her arms and was clearly red with embarrassment.

"Oi, you just said—"

"Ah, moi said no one of import was here."

"Oi!"

"Va-Vanir-san!" Yunyun yelled, still completely red.

The devil laughed haughtily. "Mmm, such delectable amounts of negative emotions; truly, you two are great company."

"Yunyun, what are you doing here; are you looking for Megumin?" I asked quickly trying to move past the revelation of former happenings.

"This one is here as a volunteer," Vanir answered.

"Va-Vanir-san, I'd appreciate it if you didn't send me out to a questionable place like that; th-there were all kinds of…" Yunyun closed her eyes tightly; she seemed to be exceptionally embarrassed.

"Ah, but moi was simply fulfilling his end of the bargain; thoust wished for moi to locate the young man that you hang around so much because you're seemingly attracted to—"

"Waaa!" Yunyun yelled, pushing the box of contents into Vanir.

Vanir laughed once more. "Mmm, so scrumptious."

_"Eh, Yunyun was looking for a guy; did Yunyun actually find a boyfriend? _Oi, Yunyun, did you find a boyfriend?" I asked nonchalantly.

Although seemingly impossible, Yunyun grew even redder. "Ka-Kazuma-kun, waaa!" She dashed out of the store covering her face.

"Oi, Yunyun, wait, that's dangerous!"

"Oof!" Yunyun faceplanted into the street just outside the store. After several seconds of lying motionless, she slowly got up and limped away silently.

"Ah," I said, turning my attention back to Vanir, "where's Wiz?"

"Ah, the useless shop owner?" Vanir said maliciously. "Once again, she has bought another batch of equally useless items putting us in the red again; honestly, one would think her gifted with a curse of stupidity unbound. It is no wonder why her and that infernal pet for a goddess of yours get along so well."

"I assume you punished her?"

"Ah, moi has."

I sighed; though I felt bad for Wiz, I felt somewhat worse for Vanir.

"So, the brat has come to the shop to show moi of a new idea he has." Vanir smirked.

As always, this devil renowned for his foresight knew why I was here. "Ah, yeah; here take a look." Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to Vanir. "Just something I hastily drew up along the way here."

Vanir stared at the paper while he rubbed his chin; his demeanor was serious at first as he tried to discern the purpose of the invention, but then smiled widely. "Moi is thoroughly impressed by this one; with this invention the shop might not have to worry about going under."

"Is it possible?"

"Ah, yes, quite; it will take some time, but moi believes once it is done, this invention could change this world greatly."

I grinned deviously. "Something that can change the world isn't cheap; I assume I'll be fairly compensated?"

"Ah, but of course young brat, when has moi ever deceived you?" The way Vanir said what he did made me feel uneasy, even if this devil hasn't…yet. "Yes, for this…one billion eris seems like fair compensation."

My jaw dropped. "One, one billion eris?"

"Umu, once this is widely manufactured moi believes he shall quickly recoup the losses."

"Uh, Vanir—"

He laughed loudly. "The brat wishes to know where does moi gets thine funds?"

"Eh, well—"

"Such information does not come free, boy."

"…"

"However, since the brat has given moi a lucrative opportunity, moi shall answer any three questions which he has."

"Oh?"

"Umu, quite so. Moi shall begin with thy previous question. Quite simply, moi is a Duke of Hell, having riches far surpassing human comprehension. The brat's following question would be why then does moi not use thine funds to create the dungeon of moi's dreams?"

"…"

"This is not something moi can answer in a fashion which human minds can comprehend; it is a behavior exclusive to devils and immortals."

"So, if you're not answering that question, that means I still have two more, right?"

Vanir smiled and extended his palm out for me to continue.

"The other thing I was wondering was about the Demon King."

"Ah, the young one wishes to know if he is ready to face the Demon King?"

"…" I nodded.

Vanir laughed. "Moi would not worry."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Moi has known the Demon King for a long time; there is little cause for worry."

I raised a brow in confusion. "Alright, the last thing I wanted to ask you…it was concerning—"

Vanir's face grew stern. "Thou will do well to stray from this question, young brat; the past of the Demon King's daughter and moi's own are simply that, our own and that is how it shall stay."

For the first time since I met Vanir, I felt a seriously unnerving aura; I gulped.

"That being said, moi will simply say this, the Demon King's daughter and moi were not romantically involved; moi knows the brat's mind dost not stray far from this measure of thought."

"…"

"Those are the young brats three terribly-wasted questions; moi will begin on plans concerning the new invention, the funds will reach you in a week's time."

"Ah, right, well, thanks."

"Oh, and brat, try not to forget **those** next time." Vanir smiled and then laughed as I stared embarrassingly at him.

I quickly exited the shop. Aqua and I locked eyes momentarily before she looked away haughtily.

"Humph." She walked in and a few seconds later I could hear Vanir and her arguing away; is there no where that goddess can go and **not** cause issues?

By the time I finished up in Wiz's shop, and arrived at my next stop, the Guild Hall, it was nearly noon. I entered and quickly found a seat, raising my arm at nearby barmaid, I ordered some food and drinks. As I waited, a familiar voice approached from behind, the voice of the blonde-haired delinquent, Dust.

"Well, look who it is," He said, taking a seat in front of me.

"Eep! Ka-Kazuma-kun." It was Yunyun.

"Yunyun, what are **you** doing here? Ohhh…" I turned to Dust and gave him a thumbs up.

"Kyaaaaa, no, Kazuma-kun, you have it all wrong!" Yunyun latched on to me and began to shake me with a strength I didn't think she was capable of.

"YuunnYuunn, pplleeaa—" I managed to free myself. "Please stop, I get it." I held my head in pain. "Oh, you're ok, who healed you?"

Yunyun sat down next to me as to prove a point. "I ran in to Aqua-san on my way over here and she offered to heal me."

"I'm surprised she didn't try to get you to join the Axis Cult."

"Well, she kind of…tried."

"Hey!" Dust said, slamming his fist on the table. We both looked at him.

"Eh, what is it?" I said.

"What is it?" he retorted. "You disappear after all this time and when I finally see you again you don't even offer to buy me a drink?! I thought we were friends, Kazuma."

"Ah, well you're in luck, I just made a bunch of money on an investment." I turned towards the center of the bar. "OI, DRINKS ARE ON ME TODAY!"

The Guild Hall erupted into a frenzy of laughter and roars of approval.

Dust grinned. "I knew I could count on you, Kazuma."

The barmaid returned with my food and drinks. Dust quickly ordered several of his own cocktails, each of varying value, mostly expensive.

"Oi, Dust you could've gone a bit easier with the drinks."

"Hey, Kazuma, you did me a fine favor today; next time you need some help, don't forget about your 'ol pal here."

"Dust-san," Yunyun said; her tone was unusually firm, "Kazuma-kun is taking part in the fight against the Demon King soon, why not offer your help there?"

"Oh, is this true, Kazuma?"

"Eh, well, yeah, I guess," I said reluctantly.

"Hmm, didn't really think you had it in you."

"Oi."

"Haha, just kidding, but if it's against the Demon King than I can't really help you there."

Yunyun crossed her arms and frowned at Dust. "Humph, I knew it, Dust-san is all talk and really doesn't wanna help his friends."

"Hey, Yunyun, cut me some slack, not all of us are as good as, Kazuma."

"Oi, stop it, the flattery is really starting to be obvious," I interjected.

Dust's drinks arrived and no sooner than they did, he began downing them. "Anyways, thanks for drinks again, Kazuma; as for repaying you…" Dust leaned in whispered, "I may have some of those passes to that special café."

"Oh, that so?" I said with a devious grin. "Well, I'll be looking forward to it, Dust."

Yunyun stared at us with a frown. "Why do I get the feeling both of you are talking about something indecent?"

"Yunyun," Dust said, slamming his empty mug down on to table, "both of us are incredibly upstanding individuals; we are the lifeblood of this town!"

"I worry for Axel if their example of an upstanding citizen is you, Dust-san."

"Ah, thank you for not including me in this, Yunyun," I said with a smile.

Yunyun stared at me somewhat fretfully and twiddled her fingers.

"Oi, what's with that expression?"

"Ah-Ah, Kazuma-kun has…redeeming…some…I'm sure…" Yunyun looked down with increasing anxiety.

I frowned and then sighed.

After finishing my food and exchanging some more meaningless banter with Dust and Yunyun, I left. It was about noon, so the stalls were starting to get busy; taking this cue I made my way to stands near the Eris church. Oddly enough, in my attempt to distance myself form all the crazy Axis Cultists, I found myself in the midst of them, chief among them, the town representative of the Axel branch Axis Church, Cecily; Megumin was with her.

"Oh, hey, Kazuma!" Megumin yelled out to me.

I attempted to not notice but Megumin yelled even louder.

"Hey, Kazuma!"

Again, I ignored her as I pushed past some of the cultists.

"Hey—Hey, Kazuma!"

_"Oi, can't you see I'm trying to ignore you!"_ A large pebble hit me square on the side of my face.

"Ah, what the—"

Megumin ran over pouting, Cecily not far behind. "I know you could hear me, Kazuma!" Megumin said angrily.

"Why'd you throw a rock at me, you short-fused loli!"

Megumin pressed the end of her staff to my face. "Call me that again and I'll show you short-fused."

"Ah, Megumin-chan is so cute when she's flustered!" Cecily said, hugging Megumin tightly from behind; she pressed her face to Megumin's cheek and lewdly rubbed herself on her.

It was a display of public lewdness that shamed even me.

"Gah, get off of me, Cecily onee-san!" Megumin said trying her best to get away.

I took the opportunity to make my own get away, but Megumin grabbed onto my cloak.

"D-Don't leave me with her, Kazuma!" Megumin cried desperately.

"Oi, ge-get off!" I said, trying to pry Megumin off.

"Please, Kazuma, you don't know what she does to me!"

"Oi, wha-what the hell are you guys doing?!" I yelled, sort of imagining the scenes in my mind.

I abruptly fell forward, Megumin on to my back. As we stumbled to our feet, Cecily stood with her arms on her hips; she stared angrily at me.

"Tch, while I can say that I commend your love of lolis I can't forgive you for your continued mistreatment of my love, Megumin!" Cecily said shamelessly.

"Oi!" both me and Megumin said simultaneously.

"Megumin-chan, let's go back to the stalls near the Axis church; there's a wonderful spot that's both hidden from prying eyes and in the shade," Cecily said with increasing excitement.

While, I didn't really mind leaving Megumin alone for now, I was quite afraid of what this perverted nun might do to her if I did.

Megumin latched on to me. "Kazuma," She said fearfully.

"There she is!" one of the stand owners yelled; the group of police that were speaking with the man, dashed at Cecily.

"Ah!" she yelled. She turned her attention to me. "Don't think this is over! Megumin-chan, I'll be back for you later." She said with an amorous tone, barely escaping the swarming cops.

After that traumatic encounter, me and Megumin arrived at a stall being hosted by Darkness; since I just arrived, a volunteer was cooking for the stand while Darkness was trying to get people to come over and buy some of the food.

"Ah, Kazuma, Megumin, I see you made it; good timing I have to go attend to some administrative inquiries concerning a certain Axis Cult nun." She frowned and then sighed. "If I have some time, I'll be back."

Remembering the duties I chose to partake in during last year's festival, I shrugged. "It's fine, Darkness; I'll handle things here."

"Thanks, Kazuma." Darkness nodded at me and Megumin, and then headed off.

"Oi, Megumin, if you're gonna stay here, you gotta pull your own weight too," I said as I put on an apron, a headband, and rolled up my sleeves. "Here," I said, handing her some of the fliers Darkness left on the side, "hand these out."

Megumin gleefully took them. "Leave it to me, Kazuma; I'll put on my wily charm and have the stall swarming with people."

"Try not attract the wrong crowd; you seem to have a habit of doing so."

Megumin scowled at me and then smiled as she turned around.

"Oi, Megumin, not like that," I said, pointing a spatula at her. "Go change into a more appropriate attire; if everyone knows the 'girl with a few loose screws' is backing something, we'll never get any customers."

Megumin's eyes glowed as she stared menacingly at me. "Humph!" She slammed the fliers on the stall's end table. "You want me to go home and change?!"

"Umu, I think you can be pretty cute if you slip into something more fitting."

Megumin stared at me with mild shock, blushing, she turned away slightly. "Fine…it **is** kinda hot in this anyways." She quickly turned around with a smile. "Want me to bring you some better clothes too?"

"Umu, not a bad idea; now hurry up, time's wasting."

As Megumin scurried off, I began cooking; the previous volunteer took up the role of attracting people to the stands. By the time Megumin returned a small crowd of people had formed in front of the stand; she came back with a white loose-fitting dress and some sandals, in her hands she held a white t-shirt and a pair of green shorts.

"Kazuma," she said, wading through the people towards me, "sorry I'm late."

"Ah, it's ok," I replied, dicing the meat on the grill. "Start handing out the fliers." I turned to the volunteer who was helping us. "Hey, can you take over for a sec?" The man gave a quick nod and continued with the cooking as I walked over to Megumin.

"Here," She said, handing me my clothes and grabbing the fliers in return.

I took them and headed into the church's bathroom where I quickly changed; upon returning, I saw Megumin greeting passing crowds and enticing them into visiting the stall.

_"Woah, I didn't think Megumin would be good at advertising, but it seems like she is."_

Within a couple of minutes, a large crowd formed around the stand, various people waiting eagerly for their turn; Megumin returned with a smile.

"Hey, what'd you do to get this many people to come?" I asked in surprise.

"I told them that a master of the culinary arts is cooking fresh Fenrir meat in an exciting and unique way!" She said this proudly, with a smirk on her face.

I stared blankly at Megumin and then pulled angrily at her locks. "You stupid girl, how the hell am I supposed to get Fenrir meat for these people?!"

As she massaged the sides of her head, Megumin replied, "I-I don't know, I thought it sounded cool; apparently everyone else thinks so too."

I was in so much shock, that I didn't notice the meat on the grill smoking. "Am I speaking with Aqua right now, how can you be so stupid!" The meat burst into flames. "Gah, the meat!"

"Kazuma!" I could hear Aqua call out through the crowd; as she drew close, she noticed the burning meat on the grill. "Ahhh, Sacred Create Water!" She said, shooting a stream of water onto the fire.

"No, you idiot!" I yelled.

The fire erupted a massive inferno that threatened to engulf the entire stall. The once thriving stand grew desolate as the crowd in front of it dispersed quickly.

"It's a grease fire, why would you throw water on a grease fire!" I shouted as I desperately tried to kill the flames using a combination of Freeze and Create Earth.

Megumin stood off to the side, and then resolutely said, "Ka-Kazuma, can I use—"

"I swear if you say, 'use Explosion' I'll make sure to reset your adventurer's card and put all your skill points into other things!"

After several minutes of firefighting, I sat down on some nearby crates and sighed deeply.

Aqua leaned over the burned meat and turned to me. "Kazuma, I was gonna ask you to do some cooking for the Axis Cult but seeing as you burned this…I don't know."

"You idiot, this was your fault—**BOTH** of you guys' faults!" I said darting my eyes between Aqua and Megumin.

"How-How is this **my** fault, the food was already burning when I got here; if it wasn't for my intervention—"

"If it wasn't for your intervention, I could've put it out without having the entire stall nearly catch fire!" I exclaimed.

**Part 3**

After the whole fiasco, I compensated the stall owner for the damages and went home; Megumin and Aqua followed.

"*Sigh* I can't even have an enjoyable time during the festival thanks to you guys!" I said, angrily clutching my head.

Aqua pouted. "I came to make you an offer," she said, crossing her arms and then smirking proudly. "In return for you helping the Axis Church, I was gonna waive the promise of double allowance; quite the generous offer, don't you think?"

"Oi," I said in a gruff voice, "you messing with me you dumb broad?"

"How can you be so inconsiderate, Kazuma; this is a plea from a goddess, you should be prostrating yourself at such an offer!"

Unable to take much more of Aqua's stupidity, I cast Steal on her; a small bottle of alcohol appeared in my hand.

"Wai-Wait, Kazuma-san, that's my—"

Before she could finish, I smashed the bottle on the floor; Aqua fell to her knees in despair and clasped her face as she sobbed.

"My special drink," she wailed. "I was saving it for the winter season, you monster!"

"Ahah, I found you!" Cecily shouted, pointing at me from across the nearby bridge.

"You go away, the last thing I need is another nutjob adding to my stress!" I retorted, pointing back angrily.

As she took note of Aqua's condition, her demeanor changed; my Enemy Detect pinged in her direction.

"You little shit, how dare you this to, Aqua-sama; not only did you steal my Megumin away, but you also hurt the person I love more than lolis! Go die, you devil!"

Surprised by the change in her attitude, I was no longer mad, more worried.

"Oi, she's fine," I said as Cecily started walking towards me. "Look, see?" I continued, turning the still-crying Aqua towards her.

Cecily clenched her fist and quickened her stride.

"Hey, it was just a bottle, I just broke her bottle!" I said throwing my hand in front of me.

Cecily stopped as she looked at the bottle on the ground, she lowered her head in silence.

"Kazuma-san was it?" she said in a clearly restrained tone. "Do you have any idea what that bottle contains?"

I looked back at the shattered remnants of the bottle; to me, it just looked like a normal bottle of liquor.

Cecily continued without waiting for my reply. "That's Holy Reverie, it's the signature drink given to Aqua-sama in commemoration of her holiness and sublime radiance; a bottle of that is worth more than one-hundred million eris."

Both me and Megumin stared at the shattered glass on the floor, the spilled liquor coating the pavement.

"One, one-hundred million eris," I said, looking at Aqua (who was still sobbing) and then Cecily.

"Yes, one-hundred million eris…I have no doubt now," she said, looking up with a fist raised, jaw clenched, "you're not a person, but a devil and all devils must die!"

"Woah, woah—wait!" I said as Cecily began advancing on me. "If it's one-hundred million eris, I can just give you the money; we can get her another bottle, right?"

Cecily stopped once more; her mouth open in shock. "Are you, are you kidding me?" she looked angrier than before. "Are you making fun of the Axis Cult! Do you know what it takes to make that, how rare it is?!"

I shook my head out of fear.

"It takes over ten years of fermenting concentrated Neroid wine in the highest slopes of Alcanretia's mountain top, seeded with Tokoroten Slime extract, and a drop of holy water from the sacred fountain in the church; if it ever goes a day without raining either in the city or in the mountains, the batch is spoiled."

I stared nervously at Aqua and then shook her angrily. "You idiot, why didn't you warn me it was something that rare and important!"

"I tried," She replied, sobbing once more.

"Paralyze!" Cecily shouted; I fell to ground like a log.

Grabbing me by the arm, Cecily dragged me to the edge of the nearby canal. "It's only fair that you die in a manner befitting your disrespect for Aqua-sama, death by drowning."

"Ah-Ah—Help me!" I yelled. "This lady's crazy!"

"Wait, Cecily onee-san!" Megumin shouted.

"Don't try to stop me, Megumin-chan; not even you—"

"Wait, please, don't kill him; I'll-I'll…do you a favor!" Megumin said in reluctance; she knew full well what she was getting herself into.

Cecily instantly dropped me and turned around with a brilliant smile, her face distorted into a lewd smirk as she clasped her hands over face.

_"Poor Megumin, your sacrifice will not be forgotten."_

"Ah, Megumin-chan how wonderful for you to offer to sleep in the church tonight; Cecily onee-chan gets scared of the dark sometimes," She said as she hugged Megumin tightly.

Megumin stared at me despairingly but I avoided her gaze; her eyes widened with the shock of betrayal.

"Ka-Kazuma!" She yelled as she was hauled off by Cecily.

"Ah, I'm paralyzed, I can't help you even though I wish I could, I'm so sorry, Megumin," I lied as her voice was drowned out by the lecherous giggles of the nun carrying her.

As soon as Cecily was out of sight, I got up and dusted myself off. I made a quick prayer for Megumin and then walked over to Aqua (who was still sobbing by the way).

"Oi, you stupid goddess, because of you one our companions was hauled off by a questionable nun and I was almost killed!"

"W-Why are you sho mean to me, Kashuma?" She wailed as she rubbed the tears in her eyes.

I sighed deeply. "Look, I'm sorry for breaking your bottle of alcohol, so stop crying already."

Aqua sniffled and then whimpered as she stared at the shattered glass on the floor. "It tastes so good on a cold day…"

"Oi, oi, I get it; it's supposed to be good. Now let's go home already."

"Huh, aren't you gonna go get, Megumin?"

"Eh, I'm tired, plus she sacrificed herself for my wellbeing, if I went to rescue her, it would just undermine her efforts; Megumin, being a Crimson Demon, would find that unforgivable."

Aqua stared at me dubiously. "I honestly don't know what that girl sees in you."

I arrived home by myself; Aqua returned to the Axis Church in order to continue helping. As I plopped down on the couch, Chomusuke climbed on top of me.

"Hey, little guy," I said, scratching her behind the ears, "you miss me?"

Chomusuke purred and then began trying to nibble at my fingertips. As I played with her, she jumped off me and turned around to stare at me.

I raised a brow. "Hmm, what is it?" I queried, sitting up.

Chomusuke ran off a bit and then turned around to face me once more.

"You want me to follow you?" She continued staring. I stood up and walked towards her; she took off running upstairs.

I followed until we came to the front of Megumin's room; Chomusuke stopped and looked at me once more.

"Ah, your master is…preoccupied at the moment; don't worry little guy, she'll be back."

Chomusuke scratched at the door. Sighing, I pushed it open allowing her to run freely into the room. As I stood on the threshold, a weird feeling of anxiety and embarrassment came over me; I just realized I didn't really enter Megumin's room too often, the amount of times I did I could count on one hand.

I entered and looked around; it was indeed Megumin's room, but the way it was furnished seemed alien to me. Besides the large and noble bed in the center of the room, there were various stuffed animals, figurines, pseudo seals, and books scattered across the shelves, tabletops, and floor; quite simply, it was an odd clash of what I expected a girl's and young boy's room to look like.

Curiously, I took one of the books lying on the floor and opened it; it contained various recipes for different types of food, a cookbook. I took another, this one contained information on recipes for different potions and their effects, another contained seemingly ancient information on various seals and their workings; I placed the books on the nearby vanity set, and then turned towards some of the figurines reflected in the mirror.

Walking over, I could see a smaller version of Aqua's "Dendromaiden", Aqua's Megumin and Darkness-series figurines, a Rookie Killer figurine and even a few Aqua figurines, but, to my surprise, there were none of me; perhaps Aqua never made any, it wouldn't be particularly unusual. Still…it made me feel a bit sad.

While I contemplated my feelings, I could hear Chomusuke meowing and scratching loudly; turning around, I could see she was pawing at the back of the end table.

"Something there?" I said, crouching besides Chomusuke.

I peered over and noticed a rather mid-sized box. Pushing the table forward a bit, I withdrew the box. Upon close inspection, it had several markings and seals drawn and plastered over it; one in particular read, "DO NOT OPEN".

I sighed, looking over to Chomusuke who had settled beside me. "Well if it says not to open it then I guess I'll just…put it back." Which I did. As I pushed the end table back and was about to head out of the room, I stopped and then rushed back to the box.

_"What's in the box, I gotta know now, dammit, this is insane; why would you write 'DO NOT OPEN'; people would feel naturally inclined to do so!"_

As I held the box in my hands once more, I looked back at Chomusuke. "Well, if anything goes wrong, you're my witness." I gulped and peeled back the seal. As it finally tore, I closed my eyes in anticipation of disaster.

Luckily, it never came…

Without saying or doing anything that could trigger a flag, I opened the box. Inside were two books; the one on top was named, "The Boy and the Demon King" and the other was a black leather-bound book titled, "Book of Cursed Secrets"; both appeared to be frequently used. As I lifted the top book, the bottom one shifted, revealing a small figurine, a figurine of me; this one however, was not made by Aqua, its quality made that more than apparent. No, this figurine appeared to be made by an amateur through painstaking trial and error.

I picked up the figurine and stared at it; though it wasn't made to the same level of expertise that Aqua's figurines were, it was still good enough to be a noticeable image of me.

_"Megumin…did you make this?"_

I felt somewhat embarrassed, happy, and creeped out, though happiness won out in the end…barely. Placing the figure back in the box, I withdrew the black book and looking at the title, apprehensively opened it; I instantly knew what it was and closed it immediately.

"Megumin's diary," I said aloud.

Was I really gonna go through her diary? Even I felt shame in peeking through people's private thoughts, however, if I read it, perhaps I could get better insight into what Megumin really thought about all this…our companions, the times we spent together…this…relationship of ours. I hesitantly pulled back the cover and then quickly shut it again.

"No," I said, "I can't." I closed my eyes tightly for a couple seconds and then stared at the black cover once more. "Well…maybe just a page or two."

I opened the diary to the first page and began reading.

_Today I left the village, I was a full-fledged adventurer now. With the funds I got from the devil, Arnes, I was able to afford the transportation fee to reach Alcanretia, the City of Water, and the first stop on my journey to reach Axel._

I skipped a few pages ahead.

_Me, Yunyun, and a couple other adventurers managed to defeat the devil hiding in the forest near town. It was a difficult battle that was almost lost, but my precise timing and ingenuity saved the day…Yunyun helped too._

Again, I brushed a few pages back.

_I finally had a party. Although my new companions aren't what I expected they seem like a pretty good bunch. We've got an Archpriest named Aqua, who's beautiful but seems a little odd and absent-minded; she calls herself a 'goddess' but someone like her couldn't be…the thought is just simply ridiculous to even entertain._

I laughed loudly and after a moment, continued reading.

_The other member of our party is a Crusader who calls herself "Darkness"; I commend her for her choice of name, it's really cool…Darkness; perhaps I should could up with a nickname for myself or an alias._

"Deep Crimson Lord, Megumin" was written in the margins. I stared blankly at the page but continued reading, nonetheless.

_Anyways, she seems to be a pretty determined frontliner but there's something that just kind of bothers me about her, I can't really place my finger on it. I think she'll come in handy while I cast my Explosion._

_The last member of our party is a guy with the class of Adventurer, and he has a weird name to boot, Kazuma. _

"Oi," I found myself saying.

_Although he whines a lot, he **is** somewhat reliable. That being said, he's a complete pervert and makes an attempt on any every girl he comes by, no matter their age._

"Oi!" Even though I was becoming angry, I kept reading.

_At one point, I think he even thought about doing things to me. I don't mind physical relations, but I definitely can't see myself falling for him. No, Soketto said I'll find my one true love here in Axel, but it doesn't mean it has to be him._

"Arrggh!" I yelled, slamming the book on the floor. Chomusuke jumped up in shock and ran out of the room.

_"Ah, my poor heart has been shattered into a million pieces; this damn loli, what the hell is she thinking!"_

I quickly grabbed the diary and continued reading; although I planned to stop, I found myself entranced, wanting to know more, eventually, as I came to final pages, I noticed it was dark out. My heart felt heavy and my chest tight. I felt guilty reading through Megumin's thoughts and feelings but also felt a renewed sense of happiness and want for her. The later entries were filled with her own conflicting thoughts on our relationship, her wishes and worries, her successes and failures.

Though I didn't read all the way to the end, I felt I didn't need to; I felt I knew the girl who, without a doubt in my mind, loved me. As I put away everything and placed the box back in its original place, I walked to my room and donned the getup of the "Masked Thief" of the "Silver-haired Thieving Group"; tonight I was after something, but it wasn't a relic; no, it was something far more important to me.

Jumping down from the window, I staggered a bit but regained my footing. As I rounded the corner, I came face to face with Chris.

"Woah," I said, stumbling backwards. Chris did this same.

"Ka—Assistant-kun?" she said in a surprised tone. "Did-Did you find something else?"

Taking her back around the corner, I looked around to make sure no one else was around. "No, I didn't find another relic."

"Huh, so why are you dressed like this; are you actually gonna rob someone?!" She said in shock.

"Shh—no, I'm gonna rescue Megumin."

"Rescue…is she in trouble, did she get thrown in jail again?"

"Well, she…she got kidnapped…sort of."

Chris almost leapt on me in surprise. "Who would do such a thing?!"

Pressing her away from me, I answered. "Well, an Axis Cult nun by the name of Cecily."

Chris' attitude did a complete 180. She scratched the scar on her cheek. "Cecily, huh? I've heard of her."

"Wait, do you know…" I thought back to the times Megumin told me about her own thieving group. "You **do** know her, don't you!" I said in a loud whisper.

Chris laughed nervously. "I-I may."

"Then you know how crazy that nun is, she almost killed me!"

"Well, yeah sure, but although she's pretty odd, I don't believe she would do anything crazy to Megumin."

I shook my head in pity. "Such an innocent soul, Chris, treasure it; I know those type of people when I see them, there isn't an inch of decency in their corrupt hearts."

"Perverts," Chris said flatly, "you're talking about perverts; I'm sure you're well-acquainted with the inner workings of perversion, Kazuma-kun."

I flailed my hands about. "I'm talking about lolicons!"

Chris looked at me blankly.

"I'm not a lolicon! Stop staring at me like that."

Chris sighed but then smiled. "So, Kazuma-kun is off to rescue Megumin, it's almost like a page out of a fairytale; what brought this about?"

"N-Nothing in particular, or do you find me to be the type of guy to leave his companions to their own fates?"

"You know, Kazuma-kun, it isn't good to lie to a goddess."

"Ah—"

"But I'm not a goddess, I'm just Chris, the thief, so…"

I sighed. "Well, in any case, I'm off to get her back."

As I went to run off, Chris grabbed my arm. I turned around.

"Wait," she said, "I'm going too."

"In your regular clothes, if you get—"

"Don't worry, I'm not there to make lift like you are; I'll just be the distraction," She said with a smirk.

"Ah, good thinking, Big Boss," I replied, slamming my fist on my palm.

Even though it was practically night, there were still a lot of people walking about due to the festival.

"Damn, seems like I'll have to stick to the back alleys," I said as I peered around the corner.

"It shouldn't be too difficult for you to get around thanks to your thief skills," Chris noted.

"Umu, ok, Big Boss, this is where we split up; I'll meet up with you at the church."

Chris nodded in agreement and took off. I waited till she got out of sight, and then dashed through the back alleyways. After a few minutes of running and dodging the wandering crowds, I made it to the Axis Church; the place was swarming with Axis Cultists who seemed as energetic as if it were day. In the middle of the crowd, I spotted fountains of water spraying over the top as someone called out, "Nature's Beauty".

_"Aqua…dammit, I should've expected her to be here; even minding her own business she always has to rain misfortune on me."_

While I sat crouched thinking about how to get by unnoticed, a silver-haired thief showed up near the crowd.

"Excuse me," she said, over the voices of the fascinated group of people, "anyone know how to get to the Eris Church?"

_"That mad woman, is she **trying** to get killed?!"_

Almost as soon as she finished asking, the entire group of Cultists turned their attention on her.

"Look, it's an Eris Cultist!" one of them yelled, promptly spitting after; the rest of the crowd followed suit…even Aqua.

"Eris Cultist get out of here, your kind isn't wanted…unless you wish to convert to join the Axis Order," Aqua said proudly, stepping in front of the crowd as she did.

While I was sort of interested in what would happen, I knew Chris did this to buy me a ticket to cross undetected; I ran across successfully and reached the side of the Axis Church. I quickly made my way to the back where the sleeping quarters were. As I approached, I could already hear the voices of Megumin and Cecily; I crouched near the door to listen.

"Cecily onee-san…please…don't…it's starting to hurt…"

_"Wha-wha-wha-what the hell is going on in there?!"_

I gulped excitedly and pressed my ear closer to the door.

"Don't squirm so much, Megumin-chan, if you do, it can slip in farther than it should."

"Ah, it feels weird," Megumin whimpered, "it's making me feel tingly."

I struggled to find a way to see what was going on, even trying to peer through the keyhole.

"We're almost done, Megumin-chan; I didn't know I would have to do so much."

"Ah, you're putting it in too far again, it's starting to hurt!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care not let it get stuck inside."

"Gah, but it really hurts; I didn't think it would feel this bad."

"Nonsense, it just takes some getting used to; after a while you'll come to enjoy it and do it yourself."

"No, I can see why I was afraid in the first place."

_"Dammit, I can't see through the keyhole. I-I should probably rescue Megumin now…but I should make sure she's really in trouble…yes…just a bit more observation…for posterity sake."_

"Oh, to think so much came out of a little hole," Cecily said in an almost self-satisfied tone.

I pushed the door open and ran in. "What do you think you're doing, you're supposed to be a nun—huh, what's going on here?"

Cecily sat behind Megumin holding a Q-tip covered in earwax.

"Ka—the silver mask?!" Megumin quickly corrected herself.

Cecily gasped. "It's that masked thief from that wanted group; how dare you break into the Axis Church and interrupt my alone time with my lovely child!"

Cecily quickly stood up and held her arm out to cast a spell, but I was faster.

"BIND!"

She fell to floor bound in mithril cable.

"Gah, such powerful rope; such a skill would be useful to add to my skillset. Sacred Spell Break!" she yelled; the binding rope released and fell free from her.

_"Ah dammit, I forgot she's a Priest."_

I dashed forward before Cecily could do something else and hit her with my signature blinding combo followed by Drain Touch. She grasped on to my arms, struggling.

"Gah, Drain Touch," she said through grit teeth, "You must be a dirty undead come to take my Megumin; I'll never let you take her!"

Gaining strength from her declaration, Cecily was beginning to force my hands off her. Sensing the imminent danger, I pressed forward and applied the full effect of Drain Touch; within seconds Cecily fell to her knees.

Still fighting me back, she reached out to Megumin, saying, "Megumin-chan, run; save yourself, tell the other cultists a masked devil is on the loose."

After that, she finally passed out.

_"Geez, what the hell, I thought it was just Aqua, but it seems like all Axis cultists are a bunch of weirdos with a lot of resistance."_

"Kazuma, what are you doing here?" Megumin said as she rubbed her ear.

I cleared my throat. "I'm here to rescue you."

"Rescue…ah, well…thanks?"

"Thanks…that's all; shouldn't you be incredibly happy?"

"I mean…I would've been if you came like…five hours ago; or immediately after I was taken…that would've worked too," Megumin replied with increasing anger.

"Ah, well, I just figured you would've wanted me to come at the proper time."

Megumin stared at me sternly, her eyes narrowed. "…good point, Kazuma," she said with a serious nod, "I didn't really think of that; however, your timing was incredibly off, so I can't use that as case against your lateness."

"Anyways, Megumin, we should probably get away from here before she wakes up again."

"Umu."

We exited through the rear of the church and headed back across the street, the crowd that was once there was now gone and Aqua with them; I could only assume Chris had something to do with it. We ran till we were completely clear of the church, coming to a stop in one of the alleyways; Megumin was panting heavily, but oddly enough I felt completely fine.

"How, how are you not tired?" she asked breathlessly.

While I questioned myself, the memory of Vanir selling me this mask came into focus; one of the selling points was that it invigorated its user in the light of the full moon, and indeed, it was a full moon out.

"Ah, guess I'm just getting used to running around," I said trivially. "By the way, have you really never cleaned your ears?"

"Huh?"

"Your ears, that's what she was doing, right; she was cleaning them."

"Huh—oh, uh, yeah. Well, no, I never cleaned them like that; I don't like how it feels…makes me feel…tingly," She said, gripping the bottom of her dress.

"Really, are you sensitive around your ears?"

Megumin nodded shyly.

"Oh?" I said devilishly. "Good to know." I smiled.

Megumin frowned. "If you touch my ears, I'll blow you up…the best way I know how." She smiled suggestively.

I raised my brow, in both, surprise and embarrassment. "Ahem, let's head home," I said, picking her up and carrying her on my back.

Megumin was stunned for a second, but then laid her head on my back. "Umu…sure thing…Kazuma."

**Part 4**

As I rested on my side, I thought about the festival, my companions, the encroaching battle, everything we went through; all the moments, good and bad. I thought about Megumin and what I read in her diary, her feelings…my feelings; was I ready to let them go to return home? I asked myself that question at several points in my journey; at first it was a resolute, yes, but now…I wasn't so sure.

Part of me wished I could stay, while another part wished for me to go, and another even wished to take them with me…but that was selfish. Even though, I didn't really care about what others ultimately felt about me, I couldn't snatch them away from their friends or family simply for my own sake…that went beyond what I was ok with.

Aqua was the sole exception; she didn't have anyone here to cling to, so if it came to it, I knew she would be able to go. Megumin and Darkness, however, were other stories; each had family and friends that would be left behind, and even though I knew they would go if I asked them to, I wasn't selfish enough to put them in the same scenario I was currently in.

Tomorrow was the last day of the festival, two days later would be my birthday, then maybe a couple days from that…would be the end; whether we won or lost at the Demon King's castle, this journey would come to an end…I would, in one way or another, be forced to say goodbye to everything here. Saying I was worried wouldn't be enough, however, I remembered what the devil gifted with foresight told me, 'don't worry about the Demon King'. Thinking about it sort of made laugh, nervously of course, but nonetheless, it brought me some measure of comfort…even if it **could** be a lie.

I wondered, how were they feeling right now? How was Aqua feeling; did it even bother her; did she just want to go home? She would often express to me her desire to return to Heaven, so perhaps parting with this world wasn't much of a deal to her.

How about Darkness? Did she care for what **would** or **could** happen, or did she simply accept it as a matter of duty; she seemed the person who wouldn't make much of a fuss if I told her the entire premise behind me coming here.

Megumin…what about Megumin? Was she writing in her diary about what happened just a couple hours ago, or was she writing about the same thoughts plaguing me now…or maybe she was writing about both…or maybe none? I knew, **she**, of all people wouldn't take me leaving in stride; just as Aqua would occasionally tell me she wanted to go home, Megumin would often tell me she wanted me to stay. I often thought if she knew that after the battle I would go back to Japan; even after reading through most of her thoughts and secrets, it was the one thing I found no mention of…so perhaps not.

I turned in my bed and closed my eyes in a bid to get some rest, but after minutes of trying and failing, I relented.

I sighed deeply. _"Maybe I should go to the café; I'm sure they'll be able to take my mind off all this."_

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't. I **was** incredibly tired; the crippling anxiety, however, just didn't let me sleep. After I spent hours twisting and turning, exhaustion set in and forced me to sleep.

**_-The following afternoon…_**

Kazuma didn't come out of his room and it was already after noon. Aqua left to help at the Axis Church once more and Darkness (who was looking rather tired these days) set off to, presumably, do more administrative work. Which left me, Megumin, in an odd predicament as to what to do.

Laying on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling as Chomusuke climbed on top of me. I picked her up and turned my attention to her, saying, "Sure is nice having Kazuma be so caring towards you." I sighed as I placed Chomusuke on my chest; she curled up.

I wanted to go cast Explosion with my new staff but since no one was available I was forced to think of something else to do. As I laid staring at the ceiling of my room, I began to think about last year's festival, about how I, for the first time, encountered the legendary masked thief who turned out to be Kazuma. I smiled at thought, playing with Chomusuke subconsciously; how I wanted to spend the final day of this year's festival with Kazuma.

The future was uncertain, all I knew was that soon we were facing the Demon King. I don't know what could happen during or after; whether any of us would survive the rush to reach the castle or the subsequent fight. Explosions within the castle would probably be impossible and even if they weren't, I would have to save it for the Demon King himself. I sighed at the thought. My Explosion would have to be at the top of its game, to not make the same blunder twice; I'll have to make sure to finish the Demon King in one blow.

"Hey, Chomusuke, you hungry?" I said, picking her up.

Chomusuke purred and wagged its little feet and tail.

I smiled. "I'll cook something delicious for us then."

**_-Evening…_**

I awoke to the smell of cooking food, rubbing my face, I sat up and looked around drowsily. Ah, I remembered, I couldn't sleep last night; I don't know what time it was, but it was dark now, probably around evening. I yawned and stretched as I stood up, then made my way to the kitchen. Megumin, who was attentively preparing a bunch of food, didn't notice me; I quickly hid behind the wall and stared in interest.

"Hmm, maybe it needs a pinch of salt," she said, savoring a bit of broth in a spoon; she gave a little bit to Chomusuke who lapped it up happily. "So, you think it's good?" She smiled briefly. "I do admit, it's not bad"—Megumin took another sip from the spoon and gave a mild frown—"it's just not as good as Kazuma's."

As she went about savoring and adding ingredients I decided to sneak around and spook her. Coming around the opposite end, I made a quiet gesture to Chomusuke who had poked its head up at me; she sat obediently staring at Megumin cook. I steadily creeped around till I was directly behind Megumin.

"Yo, Megumin!" I said loudly.

As expected, she jumped in shock but unexpectantly, she whipped around and slapped me with an empty pan. I lay on the floor with my vision going blurry, Megumin stood frozen, holding the pot out to distance herself from her would-be attacker; then noticing, I could hear her distorted voice call out my name in shock. A darkness edged in from the corner of my sight as Megumin dropped beside me, Chomusuke crawling on top.

_"What a mistake,"_ I thought, before passing out.

When I awoke once more, I found myself on the couch, my head resting on Megumin's lap; she stared worriedly at me, pressing a cold compress to the side of my face.

"I would appreciate it if you stop hitting me with things," I said dryly.

"This time was strictly your fault though," Megumin replied.

The voice of the one and only annoying goddess rang out with its pompous overtones. "Sneaking up on a lone girl, I have to say, that does sound like you, Kazuma."

"Oi, when did you get back; why don't you hurry up and heal me?"

"Humph, I was actually busy doing stuff unlike you and I don't think I will; **you** still haven't given me what you owe me for starters, and this should serve as a good lesson for you to stop sexually harassing women, Trashzuma."

"Oi, what the hell did you say, you useless wench; if it wasn't for you, over half the stuff that happens to me wouldn't end up being bad; you're definitely a curse on my existence!"

Aqua gasped. "I-I—How is this **my** fault, don't blame your terrible luck on me; having a high luck stat doesn't mean it's strictly good!"

"Oh, I suppose having monsters conveniently appear when you're around is just a coincidence then?! I could've lived like a king if it wasn't for you!"

Aqua began whining. "You-You don't mean that, Kazuma! Take it back!" She yelled, crying.

"Tch, oi, where's Darkness?" I asked Megumin, Aqua still crying loudly in the background.

"Oh, uh Darkness went to take a bath just a while ago," Megumin replied. "By the way, Kazuma, there's still some of the food I made."

"Ah, right, I **am** kinda hungry; I suppose as punishment for hitting me again, you can feed it to me."

Megumin looked away quickly. "No way, that's too embarrassing."

"Oi, oi, what the hell is this double standard act; you made me feed you back at the village."

"Kazuma, it's sort of cute when a guy feeds a girl, it's just creepy when it's done for a guy."

"Oi, what kind of messed up way of thinking is that?" Megumin pushed the compress into my bruise. "Ow, ow, ow, ok, I get it," I said, turning away from the pressure.

"Ah, Kazuma," she said, "since you're awake now…can you get your head off my lap, it's making my legs fall asleep."

"Ah, sure thing." I turned my head around, pressing my face into her lap. "Is this better?" I said in a muffled voice. "Your legs are warm and soft, Megumin; I think I'll stay like this."

I heard Megumin begin to chant her Explosion.

I quickly got up. "Oi, oi, I'm up, I'm up, would you calm down already."

As I ate, Megumin sat on the couch playing with Chomusuke, Aqua left to her room after she cried herself tired, and Darkness had, briefly, came out to greet me before heading to bed; she appeared incredibly exhausted.

"Hmm, I think your cooking is getting better, Megumin," I remarked, picking at the variety.

"Really?" She replied happily.

"Umu, if you keep improving like this, I think you'll give me a run for my money."

Megumin giggled. "I may have learned a bit from watching you," She said, then turning her attention back to Chomusuke.

"Good to see someone is paying attention; wish the other two would."

"By the way, Kazuma, how'd you learn to cook so well?"

"Eh, well…" I paused as I tried to think. "I had to learn a little bit back home; I didn't really get around much, so it was either that or starve."

Megumin chuckled lightly. "Doesn't sound to dissimilar to my own story."

"…yeah, I suppose it is sort of similar, right?"

I sat back in my chair and could feel a knot in my chest tighten; home…in a few weeks perhaps I would be back there. As I sat in thought, I realized the tension wasn't from wanting to go home, but the opposite; did I really want to go, did I have a choice? The series of thoughts started to make me feel sick.

"You ok, Kazuma?" Megumin asked, sitting up from the couch.

I glanced over at her and quickly looked back down at the food. "Uh, yeah, just…kind of not hungry anymore."

"Did it…taste bad?" She said with a worried expression.

"Eh—no, just…full."

As Megumin stood up and walked over to me, Chomusuke jumped off and crawled away. She pulled up a chair and sat beside me.

"I don't think that's it," she said, staring at me with a hint of pity. "Cooking isn't the only thing I've come to learn from you, Kazuma; understanding people is something else you've taught me."

Upon hearing her say that, I felt my stomach turn and a cold sweat wash over me; I was filled with overwhelming sadness and the thought of having to leave everything I came to learn and love in this world; a thought that quickly made me feel ill. My body trembled subconsciously, Megumin leaned forward and hugged me.

"You're afraid of it too," she said, her head resting on my shoulder, "…you're afraid of leaving everything behind…of being alone again."

I felt tears roll down my cheeks. Megumin hugged me tighter.

"…do you understand now," she continued, "what I mean when I say I'm afraid to lose you?" Megumin looked up at me, she too, was crying. "Kazuma…I don't want to go back to being alone again."

I swallowed deeply and looked away, clenching my jaw and eyes tightly in order not to burst out crying; I didn't want to leave, but…

"Sorry," Megumin said, quickly backing away and wiping her tears, "we've got to defeat the Demon King, right?"

I clenched my hands into fists. "Umu…hey, Megumin, do you wanna go out tonight?"

The question surprised her. "Go out?"

"Umu…you didn't get to use your Explosion, right? Let's go out for a bit."

"A midnight…date?"

I smiled weakly, wiping away the earlier tears. "Yeah, a midnight date."

As we passed the town gate, Megumin slowly crept to my side and wrapped her arms around my own. The night air was cool and a far cry from the stifling heat of midday; it made the atmosphere feel pleasant and while nighttime was usually an active period for monsters, the Guild made sure to conduct regular raids near the city during the Eris Festival, leading to a quiet and relatively safe night such as this. While we walked, I stared up at the moon, it was bright and full tonight.

"Oi, Megumin," I said rather seriously, "we're gonna have to go a bit father out than usual because of the festival."

"Umu," Megumin replied with a slight nod.

We continued for several minutes until we came to a clearing with a nearby lake; the scenery was pretty captivating if I do say so myself.

"Umu, I think this far enough," I said.

Megumin let go of me and walked to a small knoll (just ahead) that overlooked the lake. She whipped around and flicked her mantle.

"Watch closely, Kazuma; I'll make sure this one is a perfect score!" She said with a grin.

Megumin turned around, held up her staff, and stood in silence. This scene went on for the better part of a minute, as I started to get confused and was about to call out to her, she waved her staff sharply to the side and yelled, "EXPLOSION!" I braced myself expecting the usual cacophony of destruction, however, what I saw was the explosion magic shoot across the night sky in an arc resembling a shooting star before blowing up far enough away, flaring as bright as a guiding star.

"Heh," Megumin grinned as she fell to one knee. "How was that?"

I stared in awe at the artistry of what Megumin managed to accomplish and smiled. "120 points and you even managed to stay somewhat standing."

"Eh, well…I still can't move," Megumin replied with an embarrassed smile.

I walked up beside her and laid down. "The Priest did say you would be able to control your mana better now."

"Well, that was a weaker Explosion; I'm pretty sure I'd still collapse if I gave it my all." Megumin leaned over and fell beside me; she rested her head on my chest as we stared up at the starry sky.

"…It's actually beautiful," I finally said.

"Umu," Megumin responded with a nod. A 'star' shot across the sky. "Look," she said, excitedly pointing, "a real shooting star!"

As she pointed, more trailed across, one after another until tens blanketed the cosmos, both of us staring in awe.

I smiled. "Seems like you finally got to see your meteor shower."

"Umu." Megumin clutched her staff tightly to her chest. "I got to watch it with the person I love; not a bad way to remember it all, huh?" She said, her voice growing more sorrowful.

"Oi, Megumin…"

She turned her head to face me.

"I got something I have to tell you."

Megumin's eyes widened, her mouth slightly opened.

"Megumin…I…I"—Megumin's eyes continued to widen in anticipation—"I read your diary…I'm sorry."

For a second, her eyes stood fully agape, but then they slowly returned to normal; she closed them briefly and then looked at me with a smile before turning them back towards the sky.

"Ah, so that's it?" she said with a hint of disappointment. "I knew that already."

"Huh, how?" I replied, more astonished than I should've.

"It wasn't that hard to piece together, after all, you didn't really do a good job of cleaning up."

"Oh, how so?"

"For starters, the seal I had on the box is the most obvious thing, it's meant to show me someone tampered with the box; it was broken, and I didn't break it."

"…"

"The second thing was, Aqua and Darkness were at the festival the entire day; you were the only one who could've done it."

"I mean it's a bit of a stretch to assume I did though; if I never told you, you couldn't have used that as conclusive evidence."

Seemingly ignoring my counterargument, Megumin continued. "You saw everything in the box then, I take it?"

I felt shame come over me. I nodded with some trepidation.

Megumin looked away in embarrassment but her face remained somewhat solemn. "You saw…the figure?"

"…umu."

Both of us remained silent for an almost uneasy amount of time.

"I'm kinda glad you made it though," I said, breaking the silence. "If I'm being honest, it made me kinda happy."

Megumin looked at me in surprise and then looked down with a faint smile. "I wanted Aqua to make one of you, but she kept making fun of me for it; she told me it might come alive at night and do something lewd to me."

"Oi."

Megumin giggled. "So, I made it instead…came out pretty bad."

"Well, it isn't Aqua-quality, but…I could tell it was me."

Megumin lightly thumped the back of her head on my chest in retort.

"Ow."

She smiled widely as she rested.

"…I don't get it though," I said, after some silence, "why make it; I mean you have the real thing here, right?"

Megumin smiled weakly but her woeful expression betrayed it. "Umu, I have the real one right here." She grasped her staff tightly. "Kazuma, we should probably head back."

"Oh, uh, right."

As I got up and went to give her some mana, I stopped. Staring at Megumin's heart-rending appearance, I quickly grabbed her and picked her up, cradling her in my arms.

She stared at me, coyly averting her eyes, but as I began to walk, she let her head rest on me. I walked in silence. Although I may have appeared to be fine, inside, I wasn't; I was tired, exhausted of feeling so much, and even though I pined for the simplicity of the earlier days, I, in confliction, didn't want **these** to end.

As I continued to silently think to myself, I heard the sound of explosions; I reflexively looked towards them and could see that they were indeed explosions…the festive kind, fireworks; the fireworks for the last day of the Eris & Aqua Cultural Festival had begun. Without noticing, I had stopped to stare at them. Megumin smiled childishly as they went off, and as she did, I thought to myself, _"Umu…not a bad way to remember it all."_

**Part 5**

After the we watched the fireworks display, me and Megumin headed back to the mansion. When we arrived, we saw Aqua and Darkness coming down from the roof. Unfortunately, they spotted us which instantly lead into Aqua interrogating us.

"Oh, what were you two doing out so late?" She said with her hands on her hips, brow raised.

"And I see you've grown tired of carrying Megumin on your back now," Darkness added, crossing her arms.

As I stammered to get my answer out, Megumin replied, "Kazuma just took me out to do my Explosion."

"And why is he carrying you like that?"

"Cause I…I asked him to!" She retorted.

Aqua smirked. "Is that how it is now? I always expected Pedozuma to be a little loli lover—"

"Oi."

"—but to think that little Megumin has fallen for him."

"Oi, you bum goddess, isn't it a bit of a stretch to assume—"

"That's right!" Megumin said, jumping off my arms. "I like Kazuma…I love him!" She said resolutely.

Aqua stared at her in surprise and then at me, then back at Megumin; she smirked once more. "Is this some sort of punishment Kazuma put you up to? It's ok, Megumin, I'll—"

Megumin slammed the end of her staff on the ground. "It's not a joke, it's not a punishment!" She said, her eyes glowing red with anger.

Aqua stepped back dumbfounded, she turned her shocked expression to me. Darkness grasped her shoulder, causing Aqua to fix the attention on her; Darkness gave a simple nod.

"Really?" she said in complete surprise, once again turning her attention to Megumin, and then me. "How long?"

Megumin looked away slightly. "Over a year now."

"A-A-A year?!" Aqua yelled in disbelief. "Why hasn't anyone told me this?!"

We all looked away at the same time.

"Megumin, Darkness…why haven't you guys told me this?!" She said, almost on the verge of tears.

"Oi, Aqua," I said, "telling you anything is as good as shouting it out to the world."

Quicker than any of us expected, Aqua was upon me, grasping my collar. "You shitty NEET, why didn't **you** tell me yourself; is it because you're too chicken to respond to a girl's feelings, that's it, right?!"

"Oi!" I yelled, trying to pry myself free. "Even if I told you anything, it's not like you would believe me."

Aqua let go; she stepped back with crossed arms and then smirked once more. She turned to Megumin. "Megumin," she said with a semi-serious expression, "how much do you love this walking pile of lecherous vibes?"

"Oi."

Megumin answered with the same intensity she did earlier, "I love him, and I'll do anything for him."

Though she showed no sign of it, I had no doubt in my mind that Megumin was incredibly embarrassed saying these things so adamantly; after all, I was incredibly embarrassed, and I was just hearing her say them.

Aqua stared at her seriously, Megumin stared back all the same. Finally, Aqua relaxed with a deep sigh and then smiled at Megumin.

"How romantic; that even love could blossom between a hopeless NEET and a strange little girl."

Aqua was, at heart, a romantic; a quality I had forgotten in lieu of her other, more infamously outstanding, behaviors.

"But wait, Aqua, how didn't you know this; I feel it was sort of obvious," Darkness interjected.

"I have to agree with Darkness," I said. "It's not like Megumin tries particularly hard to hide the fact that she, at the very least, likes me."

"Umu," Megumin added, "they're right."

Seeing everyone question her, Aqua looked around nervously. "It's-It's not like I didn't know…just, I just didn't think she liked him as much as she does; I thought it was some sort of joke!"

Then I remembered, Aqua's an idiot.

I cleared my throat loudly. "Well then…now what?" I said, scratching my head in awkwardness.

"What do you mean, now what?" Megumin replied. "Nothing, we continue as we always have."

"Umu," I said in agreement. "Let's head inside and get some rest then."

As Aqua and Darkness headed in, Megumin grabbed my arm.

"Huh, what is it, Megumin?" I asked.

"Umm, I can't move," She replied.

"Huh?"

"I mean, I still haven't recovered from using explosion magic."

As I went to give her mana, she parried my hand with her staff. "Carry me," She said with commanding undertones.

"Eh, no way; my arms are still tired from carrying you all this way. Just let me give you some mana."

"Don't wanna!"

"Oi, stop being like that; it's unbecoming."

"Ka-Kazuma, please."

"Hey, just because you confessed openly doesn't mean I suddenly have to be nice to you."

"You-You should be nice to me anyways."

As I kept trying to give her mana, Megumin kept parrying, eventually deflecting my flurry of attempts.

"Oi, you're more than ok and what's with that ridiculous ability to block?!" I said, breathing heavily.

"Hehe, you underestimate the abilities of a Crimson Mage, Kazuma," She said, breathing just as heavily.

"Hey, if you're not gonna let me give you mana, I'm going back in."

As I turned away, Megumin grabbed the back of my mantle, choking me. "Wai-wait, Kazuma, I'm serious!"

"Let go!" I said, trying to prevent the piece of clothing from digging any deeper into my neck.

"Kazuma, I can't move; don't leave me out here alone!"

I undid the front latch of the mantle, causing it to release and Megumin to fall backwards. As I massaged my neck and turned around, Megumin lay on her back, massaging her head.

"Hey, I'm going to bed, so if you're gonna keep being stubborn about it—"

"It might be the last time," she interrupted, "it might be the last time you'll bring me back, Kazuma."

As she said this, I froze.

_"Why'd she have to go and say that?"_

I sighed deeply. "Now I'm all uncomfortable," I replied. "And my arms are still tired. And since you're unable to move, it means I'm just gonna have to make you feel uncomfortable too."

"Huh, wait, Kazuma, what're you planning to do to me?" Megumin weakly covered herself.

"Relax, it's nothing like that."

I leaned forward and picked up Megumin, carrying her in front of me, her legs around my waist, arms around my neck. She stared wide-eyed, her eyes starting to glow.

"Ah, see now we're both uncomfortable."

Megumin froze for a second but then steadily leaned forward; in response, **I** froze. She moved past my lips and then settled her head on my shoulder.

She whispered, "it's not your birthday yet."

I gulped and carried her in.

Despite the overwhelming pressure of wanting to do more, nothing happened, I took Megumin to her room and went to my own. The night quickly passed into day and by next morning I awoke to an empty house.

"Ah, Chomusuke, where have they gone?" I said, petting her while I lay on the couch.

It was the day after the Eris Festival and many people were still helping with the cleanup; this was no different in the capital. Me, Darkness, and, reluctantly, Aqua decided to go out to the capital in order to buy something for Kazuma's birthday.

"I don't get it," Aqua said somewhat angrily, "why do we have to go buy him something?"

"It's his birthday, Aqua," Darkness replied.

"Not yet it isn't, and even if it was, when has he ever gotten anything for us?!"

Me and Darkness exchanged looks.

I replied, "Well, he hasn't really gone out his way to buy a present as far as I remember, but Kazuma usually gives us money to buy our own things."

"Well **my** birthday is coming up and I expect something from him this year; after all, he **did **break a bottle of my most amazing ambrosia." Aqua said, angrily crossing her arms. "I expect, **at least**, something as good…or as expensive."

"Eh, Aqua, didn't that cost like a hundred million eris?"

Darkness instantly snapped her attention to us. "What cost that much?" She asked in surprised curiosity.

"It's some special drink that the Axis Cult makes, I think it was called—"

"Holy Reverie," Aqua answered with a proud smile.

"Holy…"—Darkness placed a hand to her chin as she thought—"Holy—ah, right, I remember that name; it's a rare type of alcohol. Usually it's reserved for royalty or high nobility; how'd you manage to get a bottle, Aqua?"

Aqua's smile grew smug. "Silly, Darkness, you speak as if I'm not a goddess; of course, I would get a bottle."

Again, me and Darkness exchanged looks.

"Right, that aside," Darkness said, coughing lightly, "what are we planning on getting Kazuma; are we getting separate gifts or—"

"Separate," I said, cutting her off almost instantly.

"Uh, right; well, any ideas?"

Aqua sucked her teeth. "It's not like we need to think hard on this; that boy will be satisfied with anything as long as its perverted enough. Let's just buy something and head back; I'm worried about leaving Emperor Zell at that shop."

"You say that, but you keep leaving him there," I retorted.

"What am I supposed to do; I'm a loving mother, and if my child wishes to stay around a questionable group of people who am I to say otherwise."

I instantly recognized why Kazuma felt the way he did about Aqua.

"Ah!" Aqua yelled out, startling us. "I got it; I know what we can get him."

"I thought we were getting separate gif—"

"Megumin, all you have to do is give him a pair of your underwear; he'll be more than satisfied—"

"Aqua, what do you take me as?!"

"Well, I never said it had to be used underwear."

I frowned in protest. "I'm not giving Kazuma my underwear, I wanna give him a **proper** gift."

"Oh fine, I suppose I can help you pick something out. Probably a good time to go buy a couple things for ourselves too."

"*Sigh* sure I guess."

We spent the rest of the day going through the capital in search for Kazuma's present; after which, on Aqua's insistence, we went out shopping for ourselves. Darkness carried most of the stuff as we made our way back to the teleport station. I originally made some plans to visit Iris, but time being as stretched as it was, I couldn't. I'm sure if she knew it was Kazuma's birthday, she would either find some way to get him to celebrate it in the capital or find some way to go to him.

As we arrived home, Kazuma was sat on the couch playing the handheld. Aqua collapsed in the armchair, petting Zell, while Darkness and I entered. Darkness placed the boxes and bags on the floor while I took a seat beside Kazuma.

"So," he said, placing the game on the table, "where'd you guys go all day, shopping?"

"We bought a couple things for ourselves," I said.

"A couple? Seems like you guys bought out entire shops; I thought you didn't like shopping, Megumin?"

"Most of it's mine," Aqua clarified.

"Of course it is. How about you, oujo-sama, did you happen to splurge a bit?"

Darkness sighed as she laid back on the chair beside him. "I couldn't…really find anything…my size," She said dejectedly.

Kazuma looked away sharply; I know he was trying his hardest not to laugh.

"By the way," he continued, "who ended up paying for all of this?"

We looked at each other.

"I thought you paid for it, Darkness," I said, slightly confused.

"Uh, I though you did, Megumin," She replied.

We all stared at Aqua, who looked up at us in response.

"Wait…I thought one of you guys paid."

"Huh…did you guys steal all of this?!" I yelled incredulously.

"Don't be silly, Kazuma!" Aqua retorted. "I was unsure of who was paying so I basically told them to put it all on your tab…smart thinking, huh?"

Kazuma stood up silently and gently grabbed Emperor Zell; he stroked it softly while wearing a devilish grin.

"Emperor Zell has been getting quite big; in fact, I think he's just big enough for all of us to enjoy a piece of him!" he exclaimed.

"No!" Aqua yelled, grabbing onto Kazuma. "I'm sorry, please don't hurt Emperor Zell!" Kazuma fought back strongly, trying to get the arm Aqua was now grabbing, onto Zell's wing. "Kazuma, please, I said I'm sorry—I'M SORRY!" she yelled desperately. "Kazuma-san, KAZUMA-SAN!"

**_-Next morning_**

It was my birthday; as I thought about this, I smiled. I wasn't stupid; the girls had gone out shopping yesterday and while they may have bought a few things for themselves, I knew their true objective was to get me something for today. I quickly got out of bed and went to open my door…but couldn't.

"Huh?" I said in confusion.

I tried again with the same result.

_"Oi, am I stuck in here? _Oi!" I yelled, while pounding on the door. "Oi! Is anyone there; I can't get out of—"

"Kazuma?" Darkness said, she sounded a bit surprised.

"Oi, Darkness, is that you?"

"Ah, yeah, what's wrong—"

"I'm stuck in my room; I can't get out, is something blocking the door?"

"Uh, nothing that I can see."

_"So, the door is magically locked? _Darkness, are you the only one home right now?"

"Uh, well, from what I can tell."

"Hey, Darkness, I think the door is magically locked; can you go get Aq—_wait a minute…did Aqua lock the damn door?! It wouldn't be surprising after what I tried to do to Zell…dammit."_

"You want me to get Aqua?"

"Uh, nevermind. One second."

I turned around and went to the window; as I tried to open it, I got same response I received from the door; it was magically locked.

"What the hell, really? Darkness, the window is locked too; can you try breaking the door down?"

"R-Really, Kazuma?"

"Well, can you?"

"Umu, I'll try. Stand back."

I took several steps back and waited. Seconds later, Darkness slammed into the door, however, it didn't budge.

"Ah, that's a tough door," Darkness said, panting. "I'll try again, Kazuma, stand back."

"Uh—"

Again, she slammed into the door, and again it didn't budge.

"Umu, what a tough door; I think I can hit it harder." Darkness was breathing noticeably harder; if I didn't know any better, I'm pretty sure she was deriving pleasure from this.

"Dark—"

The next slam caused Darkness to yell out in pleasure, "It's so hard, Kazuma!"

"Oi, wha-what the hell do you think you're saying!"

Darkness rammed herself against the door once more, but this time I could hear her fall to the ground. "Ah!" she gasped in an uncomfortably pleasured tone. "I think the door won't open; it's too much for me, sorry, Kazuma."

_"Are you serious, what kind of door…wait…perhaps they magically reinforced the door too…seriously? _Oi, Darkness, can you go find Chris?"

Panting heavily, she replied, "Sure, but what for, Kazuma?"

"She might be able to unlock the door."

"Right, ok, I'll be on my way."

"Oi, Darkness, wait!"

"Yes, Kazuma?"

"Aren't you forgetting to tell me something?"

"…uh, I don't think so."

"…ah, ok, nevermind," I replied in a defeated tone.

"Ok, stay put; I'll be back with Chris."

I sat down on my bed and laid back. _"What a way to start my birthday off…that damn goddess, I'll make sure to break all her stupid bottles of expensive alcohol when I get outta here."_

As seconds turned to minutes and minutes to hours, I, eventually, dozed off.

Darkness banged on the door; I awoke abruptly, gasping.

"Wha-What's going on?" I said to myself, drowsily. As I continued to hear the banging, I quickly sat up. "Darkness, that you?!" I asked in anticipation.

"Kazuma, I'm back with Chris."

"Geez, what the hell took you so long?"

"S-Sorry…anyways, we'll have this door unlocked in a moment."

As she said that, I got up and crossed my arms in wait; a moment later I heard a 'click' and the lock open. Without waiting for them to open the door, I grabbed it and swung it ajar.

"Where's Aqua?!" I yelled as I came out to meet them.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" A myriad of people yelled; nearly everyone from the guild was in the living room.

An assortment of food and drinks sat openly on the vast amount of tables scattered across the space. I stood speechless at the foot of my bedroom door as I looked out to everyone below.

"Happy Birthday, Kazuma," Darkness and Chris said in unison.

"You…you guys planned all this?" I asked, still staring in awe.

"Well…" Darkness smiled. "We all had a hand in it; I got most of the invites together. Aqua took care of food and alcohol, and Megumin was the one who coordinated and pretty much planned it out; I'm quite impressed, if I'm being honest."

"Everyone…thank you," I said sincerely. I leaned on the railing and yelled out, "Thanks, everyone!"

"Oi, Kazuma, come down here and join us birthday boy!" Dust yelled; several mugs clasped in his hands.

I excitedly did so.

"So," Aqua said, showing up from seemingly nowhere, "what do you think?" Her arms were crossed proudly.

"Oh, Aqua," I said with a smile on my face, "were you the one who locked me in my room for nearly the entire day?"

She began shrinking away, "Uhhh…hehe, well…you see…"

I placed my hands on her shoulders. "It's fine," I said, still smiling widely, "I forgive you; after all, you guys did all this for me, how can I be mad on such a day."

Aqua beamed with happiness. "Ah, well that's good news; I was almost worried you were gonna find out about how much the food and drinks were…"

"…what?" I said flatly.

"…huh?" Aqua replied, realizing she made a huge blunder.

I dug in my fingers into her shoulders as my smile turned into a clenched jaw. "Just how did you acquire all of these expensive food and drinks, may I ask…you stupid goddess."

"Ah, haha, funny story—ow, Kazuma, you're hurting my—ah!"

"Did you put this all on me again?" I said through grit teeth.

Aqua stammered her reply as she tried desperately to assuage my rising anger. "I-I didn't have the funds so…wahhh, Kazuma, I tried; I did it all for **you**, how could you be so selfish! You should be praising me, praise me!" Aqua cried.

I shook her violently. "You damn bitch, you have some nerve; you keep wasting my money and causing me problems and you want me to praise you?!"

"Kazuma," Megumin called out, walking over to me.

I let go of Aqua. "This isn't finished; after all of this is done, you're gonna get your due, you hear me?!" I said to Aqua in a loud whisper. She ran off crying.

"Tch, damn girl is always causing me issues. Yo, Megumin, what's up?" I said turning my attention to her.

"I just wanted to see if you like all of this," Megumin replied sort of shyly.

I smiled lightly. "You guys did a good job, but please tell me you actually paid for your end of the stuff."

"Ah, I didn't really spend anything, but of course, the stuff I did, I used my own money."

I sighed in relief. "Good."

"Well, Kazuma, I hope you enjoy yourself; I'll be around." Megumin walked off.

_"Truth be told, I'm not really used to having large gatherings like this; it's not nerve-wracking, just…a bit awkward."_

As the day dragged on to night, people left; some passed out on floor (which Darkness and a few others helped move to the guild hall). Eventually, the noise in the mansion had died down with the few remaining guests and then ultimately, that too was replaced by the relative quiet we came to know. As punishment for Aqua's blunder, I made her clean up the mess that was left; this included the inevitable puddles of throw up the inebriated adventurers left behind.

"Great party, Kazuma," Dust said, patting me on the arm. "Say, you don't mind if I take a couple of these things home, right?"

"Eh, I guess not," I replied with a mixture of pity and slight disbelief.

Dust helped himself while Chris came over.

"So, I guess the party was a success." She said with a smile.

"Umu, I suppose you had a hand in it too?"

"Well…I may have done a little bit."

"Probably kept this from being a total disaster; I can't really trust that any of these girls have it in them to plan…well, anything."

Chris chuckled lightly. "They did well; really, I had little hand in it all."

I sighed. "You know, you could've prevented your senpai from wasting more of my money; then again, I know I already ask a lot from you…thanks."

Sort of surprised by my sincerity, Chris froze for a second, but then responded with a smile.

"By the way, I sort of forgot to mention last time we met; give the goddess, Eris, my regards…for saving…you know."

Chris looked down and then turned away. "Umu…I'll be sure to get your message out." She breathed in heavily and then exhaled. "Anyways," she said, turning back around, "I should be going now. Kazuma, take care; I'll keep an eye out for you in the coming battle."

Chris left before I could reply.

_"Honestly, she's what I expect from a true goddess…"_

I sat down on the couch and sighed deeply. A small wrapped box was shoved in front of my face; Megumin stood in front of me, holding it out.

"Happy Birthday, Kazuma," She said, showing a hint of shyness.

"Oh? Thanks, Megumin." I grabbed the present and removed the wrapping; it was the small figurine Megumin made of me.

I looked up at her in surprise. "Why are you giving me this—I mean…isn't this—"

"I won't forget you," she said, "but maybe you might need something to remember the adventures we had here."

"…"

"I know…it's a pretty dumb gift—"

"It is," I said dryly. Megumin's eyes widened in shock, her head drooped low. "If you're gonna give me this for a reason like that…then it **is** stupid…do you think I need something for me to remember all the stuff we've been through?"

Megumin looked up at me, tears covering her face. Right now, she looked like a kid crying over a wound; her eyes glistened, and her lips quivered. She pulled her hat down in a desperate attempt to cover herself.

I sighed. "I could never forget the amount of times I had to cover for your guy's screw ups…but thanks…I'll keep it."

Megumin collapsed in front of me and placed her head my knee; I could feel it grow wet with her tears.

"Sorry, Kazuma…I…got something in my eyes," She said through stifled cries.

"Ah, it's fine," I replied with another sigh. I didn't like the feeling of my pants growing wet, but…I couldn't blame her.

"Kazuma," Darkness said as she came through the front door. Megumin quickly stood up and wiped her face while I hid the figurine. "Megumin…oh, are we doing the thing?" She asked, turning towards her.

Megumin turned away to avoid Darkness seeing her tear-laced face. She swallowed deeply and gave a nod.

"You ok, Megumin?" Darkness said, trying to get a closer look.

"I'm fine!" Megumin shouted, turning her back to Darkness. "Just…give Kazuma what you got him."

Darkness appeared unsatisfied with her answer, but simply sighed in response. "Very well," turning to me, she dug into her pocket and handed me an amulet.

"An Eris amulet?"

"**My** Eris amulet; I don't need it anymore since I received the one from you guys. I know you probably don't follow Eris—"

"No, thank you, Lalatina; I shall cherish this more than anything else."

Out the corner of my eyes, I could see Megumin flinch at the declaration; it kind of made me smirk.

"Kazuma! Kazuma-san, can I stop cleaning already?!" Aqua whined as she plopped down on the couch next to me.

"Oi."

"Aqua, what did you get Kazuma?" Darkness asked.

"Huh, oh, are we giving out presents already?" Aqua asked, sitting up.

"Umu."

"Ah, one sec," She replied with a joyous smile. After digging through her raiment, she pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked in a slightly aggravated tone.

"Open it," Aqua instructed; her arms were crossed in anticipation, a smug grin plastered on her face.

I did and it read, "I'll get you something for your birthday when you get me something in return."

I immediately crumpled it and tossed it full strength into her face. "You damn ungrateful bitch; I should toss you out to the frogs!"

Somehow, Aqua was genuinely surprised by my response and shot back in equal anger. "You-You should be grateful for my presence; most people would die to be accompanied by such a talented and beautiful goddess!"

"The only idiots who die for you would be Axis Cultists!"

As we argued back and forth, Megumin finally interjected. "Aqua, did you really not get him anything; what were you doing the whole time at the capital?"

"Huh, shopping for me of course!" She remarked without shame.

"Ahhh!" I yelled in anger. "Well that's great cause **I** got you something **you** might like, Aqua!"

"Really?" She replied, smiling.

"Yup, just wait one second." I quickly ran upstairs to my room and several seconds later, returned with a bag of stuff. "I got each one of you something in return." I said, placing the bag on the floor.

They gathered around.

"For you Darkness, I repaired your armor and undergarments; I added a couple things to each one, I'll let you figure out what." I handed them to her. "Megumin, I did the same with your mantle; its different enough from your other ones for you to know this is the original." Megumin took it and stared at it affectionately. "Finally, Aqua," I said, turning to her, "I got you these." I threw the breast pads at her.

As she grabbed them and realized what they were, her face seemingly turned to stone.

"You-You bastard! How dare you, you shitty NEET! I'll curse you! I'll curse you for all eternity and make it so that you can never use a drop of water for the rest of your miserable life!"

"Good, I don't want anything from the bum goddess of laziness and stupidity!"

Aqua gasped. "You"—she pouted furiously and then ran away crying—"you idiot, Kazuma!"

I sucked my teeth and then turned back towards Megumin and Darkness. Megumin had changed her mantle to one I gifted her, and Darkness stared gloomily at the armor's extra detail situated distinctly on the two breast plates.

"Ka-Kazuma," she said dejectedly, "how come Megumin was the only one to get anything normal?"

"Huh, what are you talking about, Darkness? Each of these is uniquely made for each one of you; you're just breasts, so I made that detail apparent on your armor."

Darkness nearly strangled me as I explained.

Holding her off with my legs, I continued. "Just imagine the embarrassment you'll face wearing something like this; it's traditional **and** defensive, plus you have the added bonus of it being erotic…there're no downsides!"

"Ka-Kazuma, to think—wait…you're right…it's the perfect harmony of armorsmithing."

"Darkness, please don't wear that," Megumin interjected.

"Shut it, Megumin; you're just envious of—"

She pressed her staff to my mouth. "Say another word…" Her eyes glowed intensely.

I slapped the end of her staff away. "Anyways, I'm going to bed; since you guys made all this mess, I'll leave you to clean it."

Megumin stared at me in shock. "We-We did this for **you**, you could at least—"

"Goodnight," I said, walking up to my room.

"Ka-Kazuma!"

I laid down on my bed and exhaled deeply. I took out the two gifts and stared at them. When all of this over and I return home, will these come with me? At the very least, if I was forced to leave, I wished for this to be a possibility; I didn't want to forget my time here. As I lay thinking, I wondered how much time was left before the coming battle. I tried to shake free the thought and go to sleep, but it continuously creeped its way back into my head every so often. Lost in the constant worry, I didn't notice the hours that went by. I heard a knock at my door.

"Who is it?" I said trivially; likely, Megumin.

The door opened and Megumin came in; she was wearing her pink pajama tops but apparently no bottom, giving the illusion that she was wearing nothing underneath. Her eyes were a shining, but only just. Closing the door, she walked over to the bed and climbed in beside me; she turned her back to me.

"…I shouldn't have even come," she said after a second, "but given the circumstances…I figure this is as much for me as it is for you…Happy Birthday…you degenerate."

I gave a brief smile and placed the figurine (I was holding all this time) in front of her. I saw her body shift and I slowly wrapped my arms around her stomach.

"Good night, Megumin…thanks."


	8. Chapter 7: The Truth of the Demon King

**Chapter 7: The Truth of the Demon King **

**Part 1**

Nothing happened; we slept, and her presence simply gave me comfort. Although, I had a feeling Megumin wouldn't have protested if I **did** do something, I knew I'd feel guilty trying to take advantage of her like that. Interestingly, Megumin was up before me; she shook me awake.

"Kazuma," she said, "it's time; we have to leave."

I rubbed my eyes groggily; a small-framed Archmage came into focus; Megumin was already in her standard adventuring attire.

"Leave where?" I replied offhandedly.

"To the village; the attack is going to happen soon."

I sat up and stretched.

"It's not like they're waiting exclusively on us, Megumin."

"You forget that I'm essential to the war effort," Megumin said with a smug expression.

I raised a brow. "Ah right, I **do** remember something like that being mentioned. Anyways, they've waited this long; it won't kill them to wait a little longer."

I laid back down and pulled the covers over me.

"Get up!" Megumin yelled, snatching the sheets off me.

In retaliation, I quickly grabbed her arm and used Drain Touch.

"Ah, Kazuma, what do you think…you're…doing?" Megumin said as she fell to her knees.

"I could ask you the same thing." I said, letting go of her.

Megumin sat on the floor, slumped over, supporting herself with her staff.

"Kazuma…you idiot…I need to use Explosion."

"Oi, you're being quite cheeky, maybe I should drain you till you're nothing but a wet noodle."

Megumin frowned. "I'm serious, Kazuma, without me there's likely no way to get through the barrier."

"Would you relax already; I'll just give you the energy back once we get to the village."

"So, I guess that means you'll carry me then?"

I pressed my hand the nape of her neck and infused just enough mana to get her to walk.

As we made our way to the teleport station, we met up with Aqua and Darkness.

"I see you managed to get him up, Megumin," Darkness said.

Megumin, who was still upset about being drained and then consequently had her carrying efforts rejected, sourly replied, "With some effort."

Aqua sighed audibly. "I'm not happy about leaving Emperor Zell there again."

"We can always cook him," I said half-jokingly.

Aqua shot me a murderous glare.

Soon enough, we made it to the teleport station and arrived at the Crimson Village.

As we stepped out into the village proper, we could see Crimson Mages speaking with knights and other adventurers; the streets were packed with various carts full of military supplies and capital merchants taking advantage of lucrative trading opportunities. I couldn't help but sigh. "Here again."

"Hey, what's with that dejected tone, Kazuma," Megumin said in slight irritation.

I looked away hopelessly. "The realization that I'm starting to get more bad memories than good ones whenever I'm here."

"Kazuma," Darkness interjected, "we should probably go over everything and make sure all our equipment is in order."

Slightly surprised by Darkness' sudden insight, I agreed. As we all checked that we had what we wanted to take into the fight, I unsheathed my sword to reveal its still shattered blade.

"Ah," I said flatly, "I never repaired it."

The rest looked at the blade and then at me. Aqua burst out laughing.

"Serves you right!" She yelled as she continued to laugh.

My brow twitched. "Oi," I said in a somewhat serious tone, "don't think I forgot what you did yesterday; you're still gonna pay for that."

Aqua froze instantly. "Kazuma-san, sorry," She replied with a saintly disposition.

"I'm still holding you to it."

"Tch!"—Aqua crossed her arms and turned away in protest—"it's not like you even use that thing."

"Ah, perhaps, but still far more than you use whatever mass you have in your head."

"Wha-What did you say?!" Aqua said, turning angrily towards me.

Darkness interrupted. "Kazuma, perhaps you can get it repaired before the battle; I've heard the smith in the village is quite adept."

"Ah, you're right; maybe he can help me…not like I have much choice."

Making it to the smith's shop, I pounded loudly on the door. After a few moments, it opened revealing the stocky smith.

"Oh, if it isn't the lad and little Megumin; I see you brought friends this time as well." He stared at Darkness for a second, and then coughed lowly, turning his attention back to us.

"Hey, Oji-san, mind if we come in?" I asked.

The smith stepped aside, allowing us to move into the shop.

"Just so you know," he started, "I won't be able to take any special orders; I've got my hands full servicing the capital knights' equipment."

Thinking about it, the task must've been herculean since the Crimson Village had the odd habit of having only one of any type of shop and consequently, specialist.

I rubbed the back of my head in disappointment. "Ah, that's unfortunate," I said as I took out my sword, "see, I was kind of hoping you could fix this up before the battle."

The smith looked up from the seat he took. He quickly snatched the weapon from my hand and stared at it curiously.

"Oh ho, what a rare sight; I haven't seen too many of these types—oh, and never with such a cool-sounding name either…Chunchunmaru."

I shot a cursory glance at Megumin; she stood with a smug grin as the smith complimented the choice of name.

"Mhm, I know I said I wouldn't take any special orders, but lad, you **must** let me work on this blade."

"Well, I don't know how long we got till the fight, but—"

"Don't worry, I'll have it back in your hands in no time. I already have a few ideas how I can make this an even more worthy weapon," He said, grinning as he rubbed his chin.

"Eh, it's fine, you don't need to add anything to it; simply repairing it is—"

"Nonsense, I'll make this weapon the envy of every swordsman and smith out there."

"This isn't gonna cost me a—"

"It won't cost you dime!" the smith interrupted, staring at the blade with fascination.

"Oji-san, really?"

"Umu…merely giving me the opportunity to work on something like this is more than enough. Hmmm, though the construction isn't bad, it's obvious it was made by an amateur; when I'm done with it, it'll look and play the role fitted to a veteran adventurer."

Upon leaving the smith's shop, we headed to Megumin's house. To our surprise, her mom answered the door instead of the usual Komekko.

"Oh, I see you're all back for the battle," Yuiyui said as we stepped in.

"Umu, kinda of odd not to see Komekko-chan answer the door," I said, taking a seat on the coach.

"Oh, Komekko's in the bath."

"Hmm, I could go for a bath," Aqua said with a smile.

"Please, help yourself, Aqua-san," Yuiyui replied with her iconic smile.

As Aqua left for the bathroom, Yuiyui poured out tea for all of us.

"This is it," she said, taking a sip of tea, "the final fight; isn't it exciting?"

Megumin smiled. "And I'll be on the frontline shattering that barrier to nothingness," She said smugly.

"Umu, I have no doubt my daughter will do deeds worthy of recounting to future generations," Yuiyui replied, staring suggestively at me and Megumin.

Darkness coughed politely. "Yuiyui-san, I appreciate the hospitality you've show us every time we come here; though our relations were a bit rocky at the beginning I've come to see you as a noble individual."

Yuiyui smiled in response to Darkness' praise but said nothing else; I felt like Yuiyui held Darkness in slight contempt. Just then, Megumin's father, Hyoizaburo, appeared.

"Ah, Kazuma-dono, I see you've returned for the fight against the Demon King."

"Regrettably," I replied, placing my head on the palm of my hand.

Megumin nudged her elbow into me. I frowned at her in response.

"Any idea when the battle is supposed to start?" Megumin asked.

Yuiyui and Hyoizaburo exchanged looks briefly and then looked back at us.

Hyoizaburo spoke. "We honestly have no idea; it's supposed to be soon, but ultimately it's up to the capital when to decide."

As he said this, I thought about Iris; surely, if the capital was sending its armies over to the final fight, she would have to be here.

"You don't have to worry," Yuiyui said quickly, "if you need to a place to stay, you know this is, by far, the best."

Megumin and I stared blankly at her, but her will was resolute and her smile didn't falter under our withering gaze.

"I have to go," Hyoizaburo announced, "the call of alchemic spirits reaches out to me; it tells me if I undertake the dark ritual tonight, my potions will be the best they've ever been."

Megumin and Yuiyui stared in awe.

"Go, Oto-san," Megumin said seriously, "if destiny calls out to you, you mustn't keep it waiting."

"Umu," He replied with an equally serious nod.

_"Ah, that's right…the Crimson Demons are a bunch chunnibyou wierdos."_

As Hyoizaburo left, Yuiyui leaned in between us and said, "This might be the last time you guys have an opportunity; it wouldn't be unusual if something were to happen between you two—"

"Oka-san, please stop," Megumin interrupted curtly.

Yuiyui frowned before quickly covering her mouth; she leaned back in her seat, a smile once more resting on her face.

_"Oi, Darkness has been awfully quiet," _I thought, turning my attention towards her. Unsurprisingly, she was completely incapacitated, face planted into the table, drooling.

"Oi, Yuiyui-san…" I said, looking at her disapprovingly.

"Yes, Kazuma-san?" She replied innocently.

"…*sigh* nevermind."

"Oh my," she said in a sarcastic tone, "it seems your friend, Darkness-san, has fallen asleep; I'll see to it that she gets plenty of rest. I suggest you two do the same, after all, once you set out to confront the Demon King and his forces there'll be no time."

"Thanks for the sound advice, Oka-san," Megumin replied, somewhat irritably.

As Yuiyui dragged Darkness away, Aqua and Komekko returned.

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Aqua said, excitedly sitting beside me, "Mary's grown up to be such a beautiful and kindhearted tranquility girl."

"Ah…great, just another one I'll have to uproot later," I said sardonically.

Aqua shook me nervously, tears dotting the corner of her eyes. "You'll do no such thing, Kazuma; I won't let you!"

I pushed her away. "Whatever, it's not like I care one way or another; I just think it's kind of reckless to have a monster like that sitting in a private garden. Geez…imagine if someone like Yunyun comes across one."

"Eh," Megumin said, looking slightly away; I had a feeling there was a story waiting to be said, but she remained quiet.

"In any case," I continued, "we should probably move that thing deep in the forest."

"Kazuma, I thought we already said moving Mary to the forest will just end up killing her—"

"Which is why it's the right thing to do; survival of the fittest, Aqua, if that thing ends up dying, it just means it was never meant to live in the first place."

"Since when did you ever care about doing the right thing?!"

"Oi, I'm an upstanding citizen and an adventurer; I won't stand idly by while people are being threatened by monsters."

"I think you have a grudge against tranquility girl and their kin, Kazuma," Megumin said offhandedly.

"They're a pain to deal with, and yet somehow I always seem to be the one having to deal with them."

"Because you're the only person who wouldn't hesitate to kill such a creature."

"Says, the girl who wouldn't hesitate to kill a flock of onion ducks and their chicks for some exp."

Megumin sat in momentary shock and then gave a nervous cough. "On-Onion ducks are still monsters, Kazuma."

"Sure, the same can be said for tranquility girls; in fact, I can even say I'm more justified in killing them because they **actually** kill people…unlike onion ducks."

Megumin froze once more. "J-Just cause you've never seen one kill, doesn't mean it can't!" Megumin shot back nervously.

"Ehhh, that so?" I said, narrowing my eyes and staring at her intently.

Under my passive assault, Megumin's will buckled and she pulled her hat down in shame; I grinned in response.

"Doesn't matter," Aqua yelled, "I'm not letting you touch her, Kazuma!"

"Oi, you're being awfully impertinent…wait a minute, where's Komekko; wasn't she with you?"

Megumin quickly looked at Aqua with worry.

"Ah, don't worry, she's in the garden having fun with Mary."

We stared blankly at Aqua.

"What?" She replied cluelessly.

Megumin and I shot up and ran to the garden. There, in the center, was a fully developed tranquility girl; the monster plant, named lovingly, "Bloody Mary"; beside her, was Komekko who stood with a childish smile.

"Ko-Komekko," Megumin said worryingly, "are you ok?"

She stared at Megumin with genuine confusion. "Of course, Onee-chan, why wouldn't Komekko be ok?"

As I stared between Komekko and Mary, I noticed the absolute fear in the monster's eyes; what struck me as odd, was the fact that it wasn't apparent, almost as if she tried to hide it. Noticing this, I grabbed Megumin's arm and pulled her aside.

"Ka-Kazuma, what are you doing?" She questioned in bewilderment.

"Oi, did you get a look at that monster's face?" I whispered.

"Huh?" Megumin relaxed, glancing towards Mary and then back at me. "What about it?"

"I think it's afraid of Komekko or something."

Megumin raised her brow and then sighed. "Komekko does seem to have this odd trait of making monsters rather submissive to her."

I thought back to some of the times Komekko was around Chomusuke. "Ah, I thought that was just the way she acted towards Chomusuke."

"Well, in Chomusuke's case I can understand…anyways, as long as she's fine; I don't think we have to worry too much." Megumin walked back to Komekko and knelt in front of her. "Komekko, are you getting along with Mary?"

She nodded happily.

Megumin turned to Mary. "How about you, are you getting along with my sister; just to let you know, if I ever hear of you doing **anything** to her, I'll use my explosion magic to reduce you to nothing, understand?"

Mary, the tranquility girl, spoke. "Of-Of course, I'm getting along just fine with the oujo-sama; no need to worry." She shot worrying glances at Komekko as she replied.

"Oujo-sama?" Megumin stared at the monster and then at Komekko. She stood up and dusted herself off. "Well, as long as no harm comes to her."

Aqua came running into the garden. "Megumin!" She yelled worryingly.

Megumin turned to her. "?"

"Oh, good, I almost though you became as heartless as Kazuma."

"Oi," I said in the background.

"Worry not, Aqua, I have no immediate qualms about Mary's existence."

"That is until she needs the exp," I interjected. "Oi, Megumin, you're waiting till this thing becomes a queen so you can kill it and get a bunch of exp."

"Kazuma, I'm not a mindless and heartless person; I wouldn't kill a sentient being just for exp."

I stared at her doubtfully.

"I-I wouldn't!"

I stared at her more intensely.

"Ka-Kazuma!"

My relentless staring broke Megumin, causing her to turn away from me in shame; again, I grinned at her embarrassment.

After this, Aqua took up her normal duties as Komekko's playmate while Megumin and I tried to think of something to do. Ultimately, after much contemplation, we settled on simply playing some board games Megumin had stashed away in her room; initially, we thought of going into town, but given that the village was packed due to the impending attack, we turned down the suggestion.

As we sat on the floor, playing, Megumin stared at the board intensely; she frowned as she wracked her brain around the losing position, she was currently in. Meanwhile, I stared in boredom.

"Oi, Megumin, don't even think about—"

"Explosion!" She yelled, flipping the board.

As the pieces flew all over the place, I frowned. "This is why I don't like playing board games with you."

Megumin replied with a straight face. "Kazuma, what are you talking about; I'm an Archmage, Explosion is an attack well within my repertoire of available skills."

"It's rather convenient; maybe I should play Archmage next time."

"You can't, what will **I** play then?"

"Why don't you try playing Adventurer?"

"Eh, me play such a weak class, no thank you." She retorted, proudly looking away.

My brow twitched. "Ah, I see, Megumin likes to take the easy way out; it isn't that you don't wanna play the adventurer class, it's that you can't."

Megumin instantly turned back to me. "What?! I can definitely beat you using that stupid class—or any—for that matter!"

"Oh?" I said with a grin. "Is that a challenge?"

Megumin sat up. "You know I never back down from a challenge, Kazuma!"

_"I know, which is why you're so easy to manipulate sometimes._ Umu, but I'm getting quite bored with the same ol' stuff; let's make it interesting."

Megumin looked understandably concerned. "What do you have in mind, Kazuma?"

I smiled. "You're probably thinking it's something lewd I wanna ask of you; worry not, Megumin, I've already satisfied my sexual urges for you some time ago."

Megumin gave a slightly disgusted and embarrassed look. "S-So, what is it?"

"Humph, whoever is the winner of this game, can ask for any one wish from the loser."

"How-How is this any different from a lewd request?"

"Oi, it's only a lewd request if you make it lewd; sheesh, shows where your mind's at. I thought Megumin had grown up a bit, but I see she's just as childish as ever," I mocked.

Taking the bait, she slammed her palm on the floor. "F-Fine, I accept these terms; just know that if **I** ask for something, I expect you to do it, no questions asked."

"Eh, of-of course; the loser must absolutely do what's asked of them."

"There has to be some sort of punishment if they don't."

"Eh, Megumin, aren't you making this too hard on yourself?"

"You seem to be thinking you're gonna win this."

"I always win, you always lose; I don't know why you think this is gonna end any differently."

"I-I never lose, Kazuma; you just seem to think that Explosion is some sort of—"

"It's a bs cheat move designed for bad players; I'm starting to think you added that into the rule book somehow."

"That's typical response from someone who isn't as well-versed in the art of Explosions; Kazuma, I thought you were an explosion connoisseur like myself, however, it seems I was mistaken."

"Of course I'm not like you; your love for explosions is borderline insanity, if not outright; listen, back in my country people would call you a terrorist with the amount of explosion-love you spout out."

Megumin stared at me as if she was looking at a rare and unusual creature. "…you come from a strange place, Kazuma."

"Oi, that's definitely not something I wanna hear from **you** of all people. Anyways, we doing this?"

"Eh, wait, we still haven't come up with a punishment."

"Hmm…" I rubbed my chin in thought. "Coming up with a punishment for you seems rather easy, no explosions, but that just seems boring." As I glanced up, I could see Megumin sigh in relief. "But I guess it'll have to do." She froze and then swallowed deeply.

"Very well, it's not like it matters much; I'm not losing so there's no need for me worry about having to refuse a wish."

"You keep setting up flags like that and I could probably win while closing my eyes. So, how about you, what'd you come up as a punishment for me?"

"Heh!" Megumin said proudly. "Refuse my wish and you'll have to go out with me on my Explosion dailies whenever I want. Not only that, but you'll also have to go a month without any 'explosions' yourself."

"…ah, I never expected Megumin to go there; what a pervert."

Even if I had to refuse her wish it's not like the punishment would matter; after all, if these 'explosions' happened while I was, say, dreaming, it certainly couldn't have counted against me.

"You-You have no right to call me a pervert, Kazuma; after all, it's a punishment, right?! If-If I had simply said for you to accompany me on my explosions that would've been more akin to a treat, wouldn't it?"

"Well…not exactly a punishment, but I wouldn't call it a treat either; anyways, sure, I can agree to these terms."

"How about the wish?"

"The wish we'll give after the game is won."

And so, the game began. In order to keep it fair (and placate Megumin), I refrained from using the Archmage class, instead opting to use its more basic counterpart; and as agreed upon, Megumin used the Adventurer class. After several minutes of back and forth, I was coming out on top. Megumin once again stared at the board with rising frustration.

I smirked as I stared at her flustered expression. "Can't use Explosion to get out of this one," I said, crossing my arms with a smile. "It's alright, Megumin, if you concede now, I'll make sure my wish isn't too much for you to handle."

As I spoke, she glared at me; her eyes smoldering with red embers. "So, Kazuma **did **have something perverted in mind," She said in a low voice, focusing her attention on the board.

"Oi, I already told you it's not gonna be anything outlandish."

Megumin's face lit up with childish smile as she pressed her piece forward. "My adventurer casts Snipe hitting the 'bomb rocks' behind your mage."

"Oh?" I said in mild surprise. "Doesn't matter, bomb rocks don't explode instantly—"

"Who said I hit it with a normal arrow?" Megumin retorted with a grin.

"What are you—"

"I hit it with an exploding arrow!"

Megumin cackled as I froze in shock.

"Oi, who said the adventurer has access to exploding arrows!"

"The adventurer class has access to a wide number of equipment, not least of them being, the dreaded, 'exploding arrow'," Megumin said in chunnibyou delight.

"There you again making up nonsense; why can't you just play the characters as they're designed?!"

"That would make this whole game boring, besides, why wouldn't the Adventurer class use something like exploding arrows; perhaps the adventurer realized after witnessing the Archmage's Explosion magic, the awesomeness of overwhelming destruction. I mean sure, the exploding arrows are a paltry excuse for the actual thing but it's the thought that counts."

"Why do I get the feeling you're basing your adventurer on me?!"

Megumin looked away slightly. "Kazuma, I didn't take you for **that** much an egotist; to think that you'd be envious of a made-up character in a game."

As I frowned at her, Megumin turned back towards me with a smirk.

"In any case," she said, "I win."

I looked at the board and indeed, if we were following her on-the-spot rules, she did in fact, win.

I shrugged and carelessly rested my chin on the palm of my hand. "Fine, so what's your wish?"

"My wish…hmmm." Megumin sat in thought.

"Hm, don't even know what you want?" I said with a cheeky grin.

Contrary to what I expected, Megumin smiled. "I'll hold on to it; there's no reason for me to say it now."

I frowned. "You might not get the chance to say it later," I replied somewhat seriously.

Megumin looked down, her smile quickly faded into a faint one. "Don't worry, Kazuma; I have a feeling I'll have plenty of time to tell you."

I stared at her in confusion but then let out a sigh. "Sure, I guess; seems the game ended up being boring again."

Megumin shook her head and leaned in close to me. "I think it was exciting; it was one of the few times I scored a victory against you."

I turned my face away from hers and frowned. "As much as any other victory of yours."

Megumin turned around and rested her head on my crossed lap; she stared up at me, smiling.

Raising a brow, I queried, "What's this, you using me as a lap pillow?"

"Can't I?"

"I'm not against it; after all, true gender equality means women are also entitled to their share of lap pillows."

Megumin stared at me doubtfully and then smirked. "I'm sure there's a lewd reason for why you're ok with this."

"Oi, that naiveté might've been something I would've bought some time ago, but now I don't believe it."

Megumin smiled deviously and then let it shrink into a smirk.

"I'm tired; let's get some rest," She retorted, turning her head in my lap.

I could feel myself rouse briefly, but quickly reined it in. "Sure," I said, lying down beside Megumin.

She leaned over and smiled at me before cozying up. "Good night, Kazuma."

"Umu…good night, Megumin."

**Part 2**

"Kazuma," Darkness said though the door, "it's time; the attack is commencing."

I rubbed my eyes as I stirred awake.

"Megumin, wake up," I said, yawning as I did.

She sat up and yawned as well. "What's going on?" She asked.

Darkness knocked on the door. "Are you two doing stuff at such—"

"We're awake!" I yelled irritably. I got up and opened the door.

"The attack is starting soon; Megumin, they're gonna need you and Aqua at the barrier, get there quickly."

"Huh, oh right." Megumin swiftly got up and rushed out.

"Kazuma, you should go and get your weapon from the smith; I'll stay with the others, meet us by the barrier when you're done." Darkness took off shortly after.

"To think this is it; it's happening," I said to myself.

I could feel my sense of nervousness begin to creep out; I gave a hard gulp and steeled myself.

_"Whatever happens…no one can say I didn't try."_

With that thought, I took off toward the smith. Upon my arriving, he was already standing outside with my blade.

"Oji-san, you actually completed it; you work fast."

He frowned at my surprise. "I keep telling you I'm the number one smith and somehow I keep surprising you."

"Eh, well, I'm not the type to take things at face value, I guess."

"Anyways, here ya go lad; it was a pleasure working on this. I did what I could with what little time I had. Listen, if you survive the upcoming fight, drop by again; I still have some work to do on it."

As he handed me Chunchunmaru, I could feel the lightness of the weapon and upon closer inspection the handcrafted detail on the wrappings and guard. The overall color scheme changed from its usual look to one of black and red (seemingly a color staple for Crimson Demons) with the blade itself being dyed black. Even though I wasn't a delusional Crimson Demon, I could appreciate the coolness of such a weapon and smiled at the smith accordingly.

"No funny things with this, right?" I asked cautiously.

"I never have any 'funny' things with my creations, but I suppose you're asking about any Crimson Demon specialties; in that case, I didn't really have time to put any work into it so, no."

I sighed in relief. "Thanks again, Oji-san; you keep being this reliable and I might have to visit more often."

"Hah, you'd be just another customer in a long line; still I can't say you don't bring some interesting projects. Anyways, be on your way, tonight the Demon King and his army finally falls."

"Oi, Oji-san, I'd appreciate it if you didn't set up such obvious flags for failure."

The smith laughed heartily and repeated the line. In my growing frustration, I left and took off towards the center of town.

"There she is," I said, staring at Yunyun. "Yunyun!"

She turned around and waved happily. "Kazuma-kun, where's Megumin?"

"Eh, she took off towards the barrier; Darkness and Aqua went with her too."

"So, why are you here?"

"Well, I don't quite know how to get there; I mean it's sort of nearby, right?"

"Ah, right; well, the Demon King's castle is relatively close, but it's still far enough away that it'll take some time getting there on foot. The barrier extends some distance away from it, but walking there should take us…a couple hours?"

"Ah, I don't really wanna walk for hours, isn't there a faster way there, Yunyun; can't you teleport there?"

"I don't have the Demon King's castle as a teleportation point and even if I did, I doubt the surrounding area could just be teleported to."

"…good point." I said, rubbing my chin.

Just then I heard the voice of one Princess of Belzerg. "Onii-sama!" Iris yelled, happily running over to me.

"Iris!" me and Yunyun said simultaneously in our own ways.

"What are you doing here, Iris-sama?" Yunyun asked worriedly.

Iris turned to Yunyun. "Yunyun-san, we were meeting with your father just earlier; I apologize if you were unaware."

"No, no, it's fine; I'm just surprised you would come out to the frontline again."

"We're a warrior clan; though the Belzergs prefer to deal with conflict diplomatically, fighting is in our blood. And with Onii-sama here, "she said, turning towards me, "it's doubly important that I take to the front once more."

I smiled. "Ah, Iris-chan, I appreciate the concern you have for your loving onii-chan."

She returned my smile with her own.

"Iris-chan," Iris' older brother, Jatis, said as he came around the corner.

"Jatis onii-chan."

"Iris-chan, I would appreciate it if you didn't stray too far; we're close to the front, we've no idea if there are some reprehensible individuals amongst us." Saying this, he turned towards me. "Ah, if it isn't the famous billionaire adventurer, Kazuma-san, was it?"

Though we met before on the battlefield, I just realized this was the first time we were properly able to talk. The first Prince, Jatis, was what I considered the poster boy of what a warrior prince to be…and I strongly disliked him.

"Eh, yeah, Jatis-san, right?" I said nonchalantly.

He glowered at my blatant act of disrespect and gripped the handle of his blade.

"*Cough* um, forgive me, Jatis-**sama**, was it?" I said, nervously correcting myself.

He relaxed slightly.

"Jatis onii-chan," Iris said, stepping between us, "this is Kazuma onii-sama—"

"Onii-sama?!" Jatis interjected in both shock and anger. He glared at me once more. "You dog, what've you done to my wonderful little sister?!"

As he was about to draw his sword, Iris grabbed his hand lovingly.

"Jatis onii-chan, Kazuma…san is…really important to me—and indeed—the kingdom, it was he who allowed us to get this far in our battle against the Demon King; he's the one who defeated the Demon King's Generals."

With this revelation, Jatis stared at me in disbelief. He turned his attention to Iris. "This man, defeated the Demon King's Generals?!"

"He-He had help, your highness," Yunyun informed, her head bowed in reverence.

_"Oi, Yunyun, no one told you to speak…"_

"Hmm, that so? So where is this help this Crimson Demon girl speaks of…Kazuma-san?"

"Ah well, my companions already left to the barrier."

"Are you their leader?"

I smiled proudly. "Why yes, yes I am."

"Then what are you doing still here?"

"Eh?"

"As leader, shouldn't you be coordinating with your companions?" Jatis said rather angrily.

"Eh, well—"

"Jatis onii-chan, you're being rude to Kazuma-san; if you continue with such behavior, I'll be forced to tell father."

Under threat, Jatis stepped back nervously. Coughing tensely, he turned towards me and bowed in apology. "Forgive me, Kazuma-san; I've wrongly made you the target of my ire. Ahem, I suppose we'll be seeing each other again if you're heading to the barrier."

_"Guess the threat of the king's involvement is enough to get even the Prince somewhat scared; good to keep in mind. _Umu, see you there."

"Iris, come."

Iris shook her head. "I'll be going with Rain and Claire, Onii-chan; I'm sure they're worried about me."

Initially Jatis appeared shocked, but as Iris explained, he assumed a calmer demeanor. "Hm, very well; perhaps me and father shall finish the fight without you, it'd be the best outcome."

Iris smiled widely causing Jatis to blush. He gave a slight cough and walked off.

_"Oh, I see…this man is a total siscon…"_

"Kazuma onii-sama, were you planning on going to the barrier?" Iris asked.

"Oh, eh, yeah, but it seems like I'll have to walk."

Iris leaned forward and stared cutely at me. "I can get you to the barrier."

"Huh?" Yunyun and I said.

"Iris-sama—"

"Yunyun-san, I said Iris is just fine," She explained with a smile.

"But-But, I couldn't—I can't…maybe Iris...chan?"

She nodded in acceptance.

"Umu, can Iris-chan teleport to the barrier?"

Iris shook her head. "I can't, but Rain can; she can move all of us to the barrier."

"Ah actually, Iris," I said, interrupting her, "is there any way I could travel with you; like a slower method of travel?"

"Onii-sama!" Iris shouted in happiness; she hugged me tightly. "I think I can find some way to get a carriage."

"Kazuma-kun, shouldn't you just teleport to the barrier; aren't Megumin and the others waiting for you?" Yunyun questioned worriedly.

"They'll be fine, Yunyun; besides it's not like they expect me to teleport there anyways."

"I-I suppose."

As Iris stepped away to speak with a nearby knight, Rain and Claire showed up. As soon as they caught sight of me, they began growing somewhat nervous.

"Ka-Kazuma-dono, how are you?" Rain asked uneasily.

"I'm fine. Say, what's with you two; every time we meet it's like your dancing on knives."

Seemingly ignoring me, Claire went ahead and asked, "Where's Iris-sama? I know you've spoken with her, Kazuma-san."

As she said this, Iris returned.

"Oh," Iris said in slight surprise, "Claire, Rain, I see you've managed to regroup."

"Yes, Iris-sama," Claire replied, "I'd highly appreciate it if you stuck closer to me and Rain; though the Crimson Village has close ties to the capital, there's no telling who might be a dangerous character." Claire stared directly at me as she said pointed out the possibility of a dangerous person.

"Oi, if you have something you wanna say to me, then say it," I said with growing annoyance.

Claire glared at me and then turned away. "In any case, Iris-sama, with Rain here, we can proceed to the barrier whenever you wish."

"That's unnecessary," Iris replied. "I've acquired a carriage for all of us to take."

"All of us; what do you mean, Iris-sama?"

"She means, I'm going too," I clarified.

Claire stood in shock while Rain shook her head in undeniable stress she was about to be subjected to.

"Iris-sama, you can't be serious!" Claire said anxiously.

She replied, "I see no reason why I wouldn't be; Onii-sama has been nothing but helpful in our efforts against the Demon King and his forces. Surely, at this point we owe him a heavy debt of gratitude."

"Umu…I've gone out of my way to defeat the Demon King's Generals and all I've gotten has been callousness on your end, Claire-chan."

"You bastard," She said under her breath.

I smirked at her aggravated expression.

Almost on cue, the carriage arrived.

"Claire-chan, would you be so kind as to be the driver?" Iris asked, smiling innocently at her.

"Of-Of course, Iris-sama." She narrowed her eyes on me and then proceeded to climb in the front. "Rain will travel in the carriage with you, however," Claire said rather sternly.

"Umu, I see no problem with such an arrangement."

"Oi, Yunyun, you coming?" I asked, nearly forgetting she was standing amongst us.

"Ah, oh, if hime"—noticing Iris' pout, she corrected herself—"Iris-chan will allow it."

Iris smiled. "Of course, Yunyun-san is my friend; you're more than welcome to come along."

We all climbed in and with a quick snap of the reins, headed off towards the barrier. The road out of town was deserted despite the presence of such a large quantified force; it made navigating the otherwise, seldomly-traveled road, somewhat easier. As the carriage rocked along the bumpy road, Iris stared at me with a smile; Rain, at her; and Yunyun, out the window.

"I'm glad I was able to see you again, Onii-sama," Iris said, breaking the stillness in the air.

"Umu, so am I_…although I would've preferred if it was just us two…"_

"So, Onii-sama, do you have any new adventure stories to tell me?"

"Ah, I sure do; quite a lot has happened since I last told you some stories."

Yunyun glanced at us but then returned to the view outside. Rain observed us quietly; she wore a tense disposition.

I recounted the many events that happened; from the moment I defeated Seresdina to my capture and subsequent escape from the Demon King's daughter. I told her all the exciting parts, omitting some of the more…personal events. Throughout my recounting, I could see Yunyun sometimes glance at me with a confused look or one of disapproval, or the annoying, but infrequent, look of disgust. After I told most of my story, I noticed it was darker out; probably midafternoon.

The carriage stopped and Claire spoke, "Iris-sama, for your safety, this is as close as we can get to the barrier."

Indeed, in the distance we could hear the roar of battle, the clash of arms, the release of spells, and all the chaos that battle brought with it.

"Are we at the barrier?" I asked, sticking my head out the window.

"Not quite," Claire replied, "but we're close; the barrier should lie just beyond the fighting taking place."

_"Dammit, seems like getting there won't be easy."_

"Onii-sama," Iris said, leaning close to me, "I could get you to the barrier."

I leaned back instinctively and smiled. "Ah, Iris-chan, although it would be appreciated if you came, what kind of onii-chan would I be if I endangered my own little sister?"

Of course, if Iris came along getting past all the fighting taking place would be incredibly trivial; however, my pride wouldn't allow me to show such an uncool display of cowardice in front of this beautiful little princess.

"It's nothing, Onii-sama, I'm headed to the battlefield anyways; any assistance I can render you would be my utmost pleasure," She replied unwaveringly.

"Iris-sama, please do not endanger yourself for the likes of this man," Claire said with some anger in her response, "although you may hold him fondly in your heart, you are the princess of the kingdom; please do not be reckless."

Iris gave me a dejected look.

"Hey, don't worry, your onii-chan has fought and defeated many generals of the Demon King, I'll get through this one way or another."

"Iris-sa"—Yunyun quickly corrected herself—"chan, don't worry, I'll go with Kazuma-kun."

She looked at Yunyun and then nodded. "Umu, please take care of Onii-sama in my place, Yunyun-san."

Yunyun nodded back in compliance.

Although I would've preferred Iris coming over Yunyun, Yunyun's help wasn't anything to scoff at; the times that she's been involved with us has proven to be quite a boon to our dysfunctional little party, so I had very little qualms about having her around as battle support.

As I turned around to leave, Iris quickly grabbed the hem of my sleeve. "Onii-sama, wait," She said.

"Huh, what is it, Iris-chan?"

She leaned forward on the tips of her toes and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek; she stepped away, shyly crossing her arms behind her back.

"Good luck, Onii-sama, and may the goddess Eris' good fortune watch over you."

I (and everyone else) was briefly stunned by her action, but I quickly smiled.

"Umu, don't worry, Kazuma onii-chan will be back." I said this knowing full well it could be a lie and it stung.

With our goodbyes said, me and Yunyun quickly headed towards the barrier. After a few minutes of running, we came to the edge of where the fighting was taking place; kneeling out of sight, we took a moment to rest. As we did, we heard the sound of rustling leaves behind us. Yunyun shot up and yelled, "Freeze Bind!"

We pushed through the bushes and found Dust encased in ice up to his neck.

"Ah, I should've known it was you," Dust said, somewhat casually.

"D-Dust-san?" Yunyun said in surprise.

"Yo, Dust, what are you doing here?" I asked matching his casual tone.

"Ah, Kazuma, I just stepped away to take a piss; you know how it can be."

"Eh, I don't think I've ever done something like that, but sure. What I'm more surprised about is the fact that you're even here."

"Surprised, come on, Kazuma, you know I'm the first person to fight for justice. Hey, Yunyun, mind getting me out of this?"

Yunyun stared at Dust in contempt. "I think I should leave you there."

"Hey, hey, Yunyun, you wouldn't treat a friend like that; come on, haven't we been through a lot?"

I raised a brow and looked at Yunyun.

"It-It isn't like that, Kazuma-kun!" Yunyun yelled frantically. "Dust-san, please stop saying questionable things!"

"Ah, I just meant we've been through a lot of situations…come on, Yunyun, you're Kazuma's territory."

"Oi."

Yunyun began freezing Dust's face.

"Ah, ah, ok I'm sorry, Yunyun, please stop!" She did. "Honestly, I didn't think you could be such an ice princess."

"Stop saying such ridiculous things, Dust-san."

As Yunyun and Dust exchanged words, a group of demons approached. "Hey, there's some over here!" one of them yelled.

"Oi, we've got company!" I said, quickly grabbing Yunyun.

"Hey, wait, don't just leave me here!" Dust said nervously.

"Ah, give me a second, I'll get you out of this, Dust-san!" Yunyun began hacking away at the ice with her dagger.

"Oi, Yunyun, we don't have much time!" I said as the demons advanced quickly on us.

"I almost have it."

"No time, sorry, Dust!" I grabbed Yunyun and instantly cast Freeze on Dust's head, encasing him completely in ice.

"Ka-Kazuma-kun, what are you—"

"Get behind him; we can use his frozen body as a shield."

Yunyun was stunned by my choice to use a defenseless person as a body shield, however, she complied. The demons, now upon us, swiped at us with their weapons; as we dodged their efforts the blows struck the frozen Dust. After some time fending them off, a small group of adventurers found us; it was Dust's party; Taylor, Keith, and Rin.

"Dust!" Taylor yelled in surprise.

"Yunyun?" Rin said in confusion.

"Ah, some help would be appreciated guys!" I yelled, using my bow from behind Dust.

The team swept in and helped clean up the rest of the demons; after which they approached us.

"What happened here?" Taylor asked.

"Eh, well," I began, scratching my head nervously, "we, me and Yunyun, were coming down to join the fight and we ran across Dust who was frozen by these demons; it's a good thing you guys found us."

Taylor looked at me doubtfully but then sighed. "Dust has a habit of running off when we least expect him to; it isn't very surprising he found himself in such a situation. Rin, mind thawing him out?"

I quickly jumped between them.

"That isn't completely necessary right now, is it?"

"Eh, of course it is, he's part of our party; as much as an idiot he can be, Dust is still essential."

"Actually," Yunyun began to say.

I cut her off. "We have to go." As I went to grab Yunyun's arm, she stepped away apprehensively.

I stared at her with narrowed eyes. _"Yunyun, don't you say a word…"_

Without us noticing, Rin had successfully thawed Dust out. He fell to his knees coughing and then quickly got up, pointing at me angrily.

"Kazuma!" He yelled.

I wrapped my arm around his neck and brought his ear close, whispering, "Oi, not single word about what happened here, got it; I'll treat you to all the food and drink you could dream of once I get back."

Dust's raised a brow briefly but quickly changed his demeanor. Smiling heartily, he said, "Kazuma, thanks for helping me out here; I thought, for sure, I was a goner."

Yunyun stared at us in disbelief.

"Umu, don't mention it," I replied, giving a thumbs up. I turned to Yunyun and successfully grabbed her arm. "Come on, Yunyun, we have to go."

"Ah, Kazuma-kun, wait," She said as I pulled her along.

"What is it?" I said, starting to become aggravated.

"I-I think I should stay with them."

I whipped around. "Huh?!"

"I-I just feel guilty about causing, Dust-san, issues."

"What about me, Yunyun, what about **my **issues! The issues you're causing **me**?!"

"Ah, I'm sorry, Kazuma-kun, I just don't feel right about—"

"They'll be fine, they have a functional party unlike me; listen, Yunyun, I need you." She blushed and twiddled about shyly. "I need you to get me to the barrier; I can't do it without you."

Yunyun covered her face in embarrassment. "F-Fine, just p-please stop saying such embarrassing stuff."

_"Heh, I forget how easy Yunyun can be."_

"Ah, thank you, Yunyun; I knew I could rely on you!" I said, placing my head squarely on her chest as I hugged her.

"Ka-Kazuma-kun, wha-what do you think you're doing?!"

After that brief act of self-indulgence, we headed along the outskirts of the battle; a mixture of hiding and fighting happened but eventually, we made it across. As we rested on a rocky outcrop far from the battlefield, I threw my head back and sighed.

"Thanks again, Yunyun," I said.

"Umu, don't mention it," She replied, panting from exhaustion.

Yunyun pulled out the familiar snack she was fond of and offered me some; I quickly rejected it.

"Demon Wafers," I said shaking my head, "I think I'd rather starve."

Yunyun giggled as she bit into a wafer. "…Kazuma-kun, we're so close now; the barrier should be just beyond this, maybe a couple minutes run."

"Eh, please don't say anything about running; my legs are already killing me."

Once again, she offered the wafers, and once again, I rejected them.

"To think I'm gonna witness the end to the Demon King; I never thought I would see the day."

"Don't you Crimson Demons get taught about raising flags; I'm sure I've heard Megumin say something or another about it."

"Well…we do."

"And yet, you guys are so bad at avoiding them."

Yunyun looked nervously. I didn't know what was going through this girl's mind, but I could feel her sense of overwhelming guilt.

"Eh, don't worry about it; I guess we'll let the pieces fall where they may. It's already too late to back down now."

"…aren't you scared, Kazuma-kun?" Yunyun said, staring worriedly at me.

"…if I'm being honest…a bit…but I think it's past the time to be afraid. Yunyun, I came here for a purpose…I'm gonna see it through."

Yunyun stared at me in awe, her eyes grew a bright crimson as she clenched her hands into a fist.

"Wow, Kazuma-kun, I never thought you could be so spirited; all the usual things I see you do made me believe Megumin was making a huge mistake—"

"Oi."

"—but now I can see what she sees in you."

_"Hmm, I think this girl is getting the wrong impression; I came here to defeat the Demon King, sure, but it's not for some noble cause. In any case, if I had the choice to, I don't think I would've ever attempted this, but now that we're this close…why not. Still, it's nice to hear some praise from time to time, especially from a cute-looking girl like Yunyun. _Yunyun, I'm a bit tired; wake me up in a couple of hours."

I laid down and turned on my side.

"Ka-Kazuma-kun, the others are waiting for you though; don't you think—"

"Yunyun, they've been waiting for some time now, it wouldn't hurt for them to wait a bit longer."

"But—"

"Oi, are all you Crimson Demons this impertinent when it comes to letting someone sleep?"

Yunyun looked away. "I'm sorry, Kazuma-kun, it's just that it's getting quite late."

Indeed, Yunyun was right; it was already the very late afternoon and within a few minutes it would be evening. Sleeping for a couple hours would mean I would be waking up in the middle of the night, in unknown and hostile territory, all-the-while leaving my companions—who were just before the Demon King's castle—to possibly face dangerous foes.

Realizing this, I sighed and then pulled my mantle tightly over myself. _"They'll be fine."_

Despite, the inherent dangers, I chose to sleep. It-It wasn't that I didn't care for my companions, no, it was simply because I was tired…really tired. And even if they **did** face dangerous foes, they were well-equipped to manage them. Megumin had her Explosion which could one-shot even the toughest foes, Darkness could act as a punching bag while Aqua healed her, and even the useless bum goddess was deceptively effective against undead and devils; beings that would be plentiful in these areas.

This reassurance allowed me to doze off peacefully. Whether or not it was a sound explanation, didn't matter; me being there wouldn't change the formula enough for the outcomes to be any different. In fact, it would probably just end with me dying or getting badly hurt as it was often led to happen. Still, in the back of my mind, I wondered, were they all ok?

**Part 3**

"Where's Kazuma?!" Aqua yelled as we ran away.

"Darkness," I said, clutching her back tightly, "I thought you told Kazuma we'd be waiting for him?!"

"I-I did!" Darkness replied, sprinting away from the horde of demons and monsters.

Somehow, in our wait for Kazuma, we found ourselves being chased after by every dangerous creature possible. After I used my Explosion magic to take care of what we thought was the entirety, even more came out of nowhere, which led us to the current situation.

"They're gaining on us," I said as I looked back. "Aqua, can't you do something; you're supposed to be good against demons and undead, right?"

"Huh, is there something wrong with your eyes, Megumin, don't you see the hundred other monsters in there!" Aqua retorted, tears dotting her eyes.

"At this rate we'll be torn apart…huh, why are we—"

Darkness began to slow as she chuckled lewdly.

"—stop it, Darkness, keep running; I don't wanna end up being subjected to unspeakable acts!"

However, my protest only seemed to endear Darkness to the fact.

"I-I can't, Megumin; this is, to be so close to our goal only to be pounced upon countless evil entities…"

I wrapped my arms tightly around her neck. "Get a grip, Erosader!"

Nevertheless, my abuse only seemed to exacerbate the issue which caused Darkness to stumble over and fall. As I rolled off her back and slid into the ground, I gave a deep sigh and prepared myself for the worst.

"HYAHH!" I could hear someone yell; a large explosion rung out followed by the sound of silence and then stampeding creatures.

I threw my weight to my side and rolled onto my back to see a blonde-haired man in dark blue armor standing beside Aqua; he seemed familiar.

The man sheathed his large blade and then turned to Aqua, saying, "My beautiful goddess, are you unharmed?"

Aqua stared at him hesitantly. "Hey look, I appreciate you calling me beautiful and even helping us, but I don't even know you."

"Wha—surely you remember me, Kyouya…Kyouya Mitsurugi, wielder of the Cursed Sword, Gram?"

Aqua quickly changed her demeanor. "Ah, oh, right, yeah, I remember you now; hey, look thanks for saving us," She said with forced smile.

Mitsurugi relaxed and looked around. "Hmm, where's your party leader; Kazuma was his name, right?"

"How rude," I said, "you don't even try to remember the name of the leader of one's party and yet you come acting all chummy with us."

Mitsurugi panicked. "I-uh, I apologize. Ahem, you ladies shouldn't be out here alone, it's dangerous; since I don't see your leader around perhaps, I can accompany you until then?"

"Ehhhh?" me and Aqua said in unison.

"No, thanks," I continued, "we're fine by ourselves."

"I…" Mitsurugi looked noticeable confused. "Weren't you all being chased by those monsters?"

"Nonsense, we were simply kiting them to a better position where I could let off another explosion."

Darkness added. "That's right, the situation as fully under control; while the help was appreciated, it was unnecessary."

"You guys keeps saying you appreciate my help, but…"

"Anyways," I interjected, "where are **your** companions?"

"Oh, I told them to stay behind for their own safety."

"I see, you seem to be the type of guy who feels woman are weak and frail creatures needing to saved at every point and turn."

"Ah, wait, I never—"

"I hate guys like that the most!" Aqua said angrily.

"I assure you, sir," Darkness remarked, "I'm anything but weak and frail!"

"Wha—you-you all seem to have a wrong perception of me," Mitsurugi stammered, stepping back.

"Really?" I said. "Cause from where I'm standing—"

"But-But you're not…"

"—you seem to be trying to get a good peek at underside of my robes."

Aqua and Darkness gasped. Mitsurugi shook his head fervently.

"Wha-What are you talking about, I would never look at a little girl's—"

"Gah…little…girl?" I started at the sky despondently.

"GOD BLOW!" Aqua punched Mitsurugi square in the face, causing him to spiral into the ground. "I can't stand guys who would take advantage of a weakened girl!" She yelled.

Darkness stepped forward. "As a Crusader, I can't let such injustice go unpunished!"

As Mitsurugi began to get up, Aqua and Darkness pounced on him and beat him senseless. After several minutes of abuse, they were satisfied.

"To think there could be a man more beastly than Kazuma," Darkness said through clenched teeth and fist.

"Humph." Aqua turned away sharply after cracking her knuckles. "Come on girls," She said, walking away from the crumpled mess that was Mitsurugi.

Darkness hauled me onto her back. After that, we walked cautiously around the barrier until we came to a group of Crimson Mages. It was already night, so they had a small campfire going; normally most adventuring groups wouldn't dare use a light source in such dangerous areas, but to Crimson Demons, such things were inconsequential.

"Ha, there!" I said, pointing at the campgrounds.

Aqua looked towards my direction. "Oh, Crimson Demons; I wonder why they're all the way out here."

"If we managed to get to the barrier this early, it only stands to reason that there'd be others too," Darkness elaborated.

As we approached, one of the Crimson Demons stood up. "Who is it?" He asked; the voice was familiar, it was Bukkorori.

"It's Megumin," I answered.

"Oh, Megumin, what are you doing here?" he said, coming to greet us. "I thought you were supposed to arrive with the main force."

"I'm supposed to be the one to break the barrier; so, me being here early shouldn't be unusual. The bigger question is why are **you** here…and who are the others?"

Darkness sat me down against a nearby rock while she and Aqua warmed themselves by the fire.

"Ah, I'm here with Funifura, Dodonko, Soketto, Ouioui, and Chinchi; we're the vanguard tasked with whittling down the Demon King's forces around the barrier."

"Ouioui and Chinchi, those two oafs? I see you're still hanging around them."

"Of course, they're my compatriots, the first ones to join the Crimson Demon Patrol Group; anyways, what's it to you who I hang out with?"

I sighed. "I take it you haven't really progressed your…'relationship' with Soketto?"

Bukkorori looked over his shoulder nervously and then leaned in close, shushing me. "Don't be so loud; listen, Megumin, I-I've been taking it slow with Soketto—"

"Mhm."

"—I even joined the vanguard so I can impress her. I-I mean, wouldn't you be impressed by someone who'd take part in a climactic fight against the Demon King's forces?"

As Bukkorori said this, I thought about Kazuma. "Hmm, I suppose so."

"Well there, you see; I got it in the bag. All I'm waiting for is the right opportunity to act and then, BAM, Soketto will be all over me."

"Uhuh…"

"By the way, where's Kazuma?" Bukkorori said, standing up straight once more.

"Ah, well, he was supposed to meet us here, but it's been quite some time now."

"Oh, if it isn't Megumin," my schoolmate, Funifura, said; she walked over with Dodonko.

"Ah, hi, you two," I said in response.

"Well, it's been a little while; every time I see you, you seem to be quite unwell."

"I'm not unwell, just...a little tired."

"Oh, you hear that, Dodonko, Megumin's tired."

Dodonko chimed in. "Ah, it is quite dark out; Megumin was always the one to fall asleep quite early."

"Hmm, yeah, almost like a little kid," Funifura smirked.

My brow twitched. "Umu, I was always tired due to how draining it was to be around you two; I'm afraid if you linger around any longer, I might drift off to—zzz."

I could hear Funifura suck her teeth in annoyance. I opened an eye with a smirk.

"Ahem, it's fine, we'll let little Megumin have her much-needed nap."

"Don't worry, Megumin, the adults will take care of everything while you sleep," Dodonko announced.

"Ah, so I suppose you two will be sitting back while **I**, and the adults take care of everything."

They both frowned at me and walked away.

Bukkorori smiled. "You're still at it with them I see; I thought you guys were friends?"

"I have nothing against them."

"Hm, doesn't seem that way."

"Perhaps Funifura and Dodonko are jealous of my genius, it wouldn't be an odd—"

"Definitely not that."

"Oi."

Soketto came over. "Can I have a moment?" She said, looking at Bukkorori.

"Of-Of course," He stuttered nervously before walking away.

Soketto turned her attention to me. "So, it's been a while," She said, kneeling in front of me.

"That it has."

"I've seen your return to the village quite a few times; the most recent ones weren't any I was particularly happy to know of."

"Adventuring is tough, it turns out."

Soketto giggled. "Umu, I wish to have your strength one day, Megumin."

"Shouldn't take you too long, Soketto; unlike some others, you're a great runner-up." I looked away slightly.

She smiled. "…so…did you find your love?"

I straightened my view on her and nodded.

"Are you happy with him?"

"…the happiest…though he's far from perfect; I couldn't see myself with anyone else, I wouldn't **want** anyone else."

"Hmm, must be nice; perhaps I could find someone I would be so resolute for."

"You never know, Soketto, sometimes the ones we fall for are the ones least expect."

Soketto raised her brow. "Sounds like something Arue would say; there may be some truth to your words." She looked over her shoulder towards Bukkorori and then back at me. As she got up, I caught a very brief but faint smile; by the time she faced me once more, there was no trace of it. "If you're tired, you can rest here as long as you like; we'll be resuming patrols tomorrow, but you're welcome to stay."

"Thanks, Soketto."

She gave a brief nod and walked back to the group.

I closed my eyes for a moment and then looked up at the sky; the moon was still quite full. I remembered the days before and sighed.

_"Where are you, Kazuma…what are you doing?"_

"Kazuma-kun, Kazuma-kun." I could hear Yunyun call out me as she shook me awake.

"Eh, what is it, Yunyun?" I asked drowsily.

"It's been a few hours now…"

"Yeah, but it's dark out, maybe we should wait till morning."

"Kazuma-kun, please wake up; Megumin and the others are probably out there by themselves."

I grumbled in frustration.

"Ka-Kazuma-kun?"

I shot up angrily. "What is it, Yunyun?!"

She held her hands up in defense, eyes closed tightly. "I'm, I'm tired."

"Eh, you're tired; what are you saying, Yunyun? Does Yunyun want to go to sleep?"

She appeared nervous as I asked; still holding her same stance, she gave a slight nod.

"Oi, aren't you selfish, Yunyun?"

This response seemed to affect her more than anything physical she may have been expecting; Yunyun quickly recoiled in embarrassment, covering her face as she doubled over.

"Yunyun, it's fine; you can go to sleep"—she smiled happily, withdrawing from the cover of her hands—"but I'm sleeping too."

She froze and then grabbed me nervously.

"Ka-Kazuma-kun, we can't!"

"Eh, what are you talking about?"

"Who, who's going to keep watch?"

"Ah good point…well, Yunyun, I'm sorry, but since I'm fighting the Demon King, I feel like I should have priority rest," I said, laying back down.

Yunyun grabbed me. "Kazuma-kun, please, I'm really tired; I just…I just want some sleep," She sobbed quietly.

My brow twitched. "Argh, fine."

A few minutes later, Yunyun was fast asleep. I looked over at her, noticing her form in the bright moonlight. I sighed deeply and turned my sight away. In the far distance I could see the dark red hue of the barrier being reflected in the brightened night. _"Only a couple hours now," _I thought, crossing my arms and lying back against the bluff. I closed my eyes briefly and then stared up at the moon; I thought back to days before and sighed.

_"Not bad thoughts to have…I suppose."_

And before I knew it, I drifted asleep. I awoke to heavy sobbing, specifically, Yunyun's.

"Yunyun?" I said, sleepily rubbing my eyes.

As I laid my eyes on her, I could see the bright moonlight reflecting upon her shiny skin; she was covered in some type of mucus.

"Ah, Yunyun, what happened—"

She grabbed me angrily, her red eyes glowing through her tears.

"You were supposed to stay awake!" she sobbed. "Because of you…because of you, I…I…" Yunyun's lips quivered and she began crying once more.

I looked over to the side and could see the charred corpse of a giant earthworm.

"Ah…sorry."

She continued to sob heavily as I doused her with water.

"Wha-What do you think you're doing?!" She yelled, her eyes flaring up once more.

"Well you can't travel like that, anyone who sees you would immediately think I did something to you!"

"Ka—how is this any better?!"

"Umu, good point, but I still feel like it is…if only a little."

Yunyun stared at me in shock, but quickly grew angry once more.

"Listen, Yunyun, you stink and you're slimy; I'll douse you and then hit you with my wind spell to dry you off."

"Ka-Kazuma-kun, if you weren't so important to Megumin…no, at this point I could just tell her an unfortunate accident befell you."

"Oi, stop it, Yunyun those types of thoughts are not suited to you; listen, would you rather walk covered in mucus, slightly wet or just slightly damp?"

"How about none of those; Kazuma-kun you keep forgetting that this could've been avoided if—"

"Yeah, yeah, if I was awake; so, I drifted asleep, I was tired, ok?! What do you want from me!"

Stunned by my outburst, Yunyun became nervous. "I'm-I'm sorry, Ka—no, wait!"

"Yunyun, make up your mind already."

She grabbed my collar and shook me with tears in her eyes. "You have no idea what I went through!"

As she covered her face and cried, I drenched her slimy body in water. After some minutes of doing that, I used Wind Breath to dry her off. That was the plan anyways, unfortunately I began to run out of mana halfway through, leaving Yunyun cold and damp.

I looked away dejectedly. "Sorry, Yunyun." Even I felt bad seeing Yunyun sob and shiver uncontrollably.

I caught a glimpse of a small light out the corner of my eye. Using Farsight, I zoomed in and could see it was some sort of campfire with people surrounding it; due to my version of 'night vision' begin returned as thermal signatures, I couldn't tell **who** or even **what** specifically they were though.

"Hey, Yunyun, there's some sort of campfire over there," I said, pointing in the direction.

Yunyun slowly turned her shivering body towards the direction and then looked at me. "I-I c-can't s-see it."

"Ah, don't worry, I'm sure that's what it is. If we can make it over there, you can dry off."

As we walked towards the camp, Yunyun used Tinder to try and dry herself; I quickly slapped at her hand.

"What are you doing?" I said with some anger. "Are you trying to get us killed?"

She stared back at me in despair.

"Yunyun, with so many monsters around, we can't walk around with some light source like that; look, I know you're cold but you're just gonna have to bear with it."

I heard her begin to sniffle and then whimper sadly.

We continued walking for what seemed like an hour, until finally, we arrived near the campsite.

"Oh, it's the others," I said to Yunyun, looking closely with Farsight.

"Others?" She queried, rubbing her arms.

"Umu, I see Megumin, Aqua, Darkness…seems like other Crimson Demons…Bukkorori?"

Yunyun smiled happily. "We're saved!" She quickly ran over.

"Wait." I reached out to grab her, but she was too quick. Sighing, I ran over as well.

Upon arriving and closer inspection, most of the people were asleep; the only ones still awake were Soketto and Bukkorori. Yunyun was already busy drying herself by the fire, Soketto speaking with her.

Bukkorori approached me. "Yo, Kazuma."

"Hey, been a while; hope these guys didn't cause you trouble," I said as I looked over at the bunched-up group of sleeping girls.

"Heh, normally, but I think they were already pretty tired by the time they got here."

"So, what brings **you** out here; are you taking part in the battle?"

"Heh, of course I am, Kazuma; I have certain obligations that have to be met," Bukkorori said proudly.

"Ohhh, that so?"

"Mhm, a Crimson Demon will never turn his back on a fight with the Demon King's forces; after all, it's what we were made for."

"Umu_…quite literally_."

"So, I take it you didn't have many issues getting here; especially with Yunyun escorting you."

"Eh, yeah, Yunyun was some help, but of course there was **some** trouble; I had to deal with it since Yunyun was fast asleep, unfortunately, it attacked her before I was able to kill it."

"Ah, how heroic, although, I would work a bit on the timing; sounds like you should've waited just before the monster attacked her."

"Uh, eh, yeah…ahem."

"Anyways, Kazuma, you're welcome to stay; me and Soketto are on overwatch for now. Come morning, the main force **should** arrive barring some nasty surprise that would force our small group to—"

"Please don't do that," I said flatly.

Shortly after, I laid down and went back to sleep.

**_-Next morning_**

When I woke up, Darkness and Megumin were cooking with Aqua sitting nearby, drawing in the dirt as she waited. The group of Crimson Demons were gone, presumably they went on to continue their patrol.

"Morning, Kazuma-kun," Yunyun said as she brought back a small bundle of kindling.

"Hurry, with that wood, Yunyun," Megumin instructed, "the fire's about to go out." As Yunyun ran over, Megumin turned her attention to me and frowned.

"What?" I said, returning the look.

"You were supposed to be here yesterday," Aqua answered. "Do you have any idea what we went through?!"

"Tch, seems like you guys had a cozy time, camping out here. Me and Yunyun had to trudge through the battlefield to get here!" I retorted.

"Let's not forget the unpleasant thing that happened the night before," Yunyun said in a low and spiritless tone.

Megumin briefly looked at her and then whipped her sight back at me, eyes burning red.

"Oi, the only thing that happened was Yunyun got attacked by a giant earthworm."

Megumin gave a disgusted look and patted Yunyun on the back. "My condolences, Yunyun."

"The capital forces and the Crimson Demons are nearly in position, Kazuma," Darkness said as she turned the meat on the stake. "We've got to eat quickly."

As we ate, a large detachment of soldiers and mages could be seen in the distance; as they advanced on the barrier, swarms of flying creatures sallied out to harass them. The knights and adventurers in the group ran forth to protect the mages, who were now tossing various spells at the barrier.

"Seems like it's starting," I said, finishing the last of my meal.

"Heh," Megumin said, standing proudly. "Seems like it's my turn to shine."

Aqua stood up as well, cheeks still full of food. "Humph, gwess ish my toin thoo!"

"Oi, finish your food," I said in mild annoyance.

Aqua swallowed the rest of the food and turned to Megumin. "You ready?"

"Of course, as a Crimson Demon, I was born ready; this is my fate, legends will be written about—"

"Oi, shut up and do it already," I interrupted.

Megumin glowered at me and then turned towards the barrier.

"SACRED HIGH—"

"EXPLO—"

"—SPELL BREAK!"

"—SION!"

The barrier stood resolute under the hail of various magics being hurled at it but as Megumin's and Aqua's magics hit it, it reverberated, flashed, and then failed; collapsing completely.

"Alright!" I yelled with a grin.

"Humph," Aqua said, crossing her arms proudly.

Megumin staggered backwards with a smirk, Yunyun grabbed her. Darkness stood with her arms crossed, smiling.

The group in the distance cheered proudly, the noise, despite being so far away could be heard clearly.

"Time to play our part," I said, taking a deep breath and exhaling.

Yunyun gave Megumin a large piece of manatite which she promptly took. Megumin shuddered as the manatite filled her body with pure mana.

"Thanks, Yunyun," She said with a slightly euphoric look.

"Oi, listen up," I said, turning to the group. "Darkness, you take point; Yunyun will be behind you; Aqua and Megumin, you two will be behind her, and I'll take up the rear."

There were no objections or complaints (to my surprise) so we quickly headed towards the Demon King's castle in the distance. The area beyond the barrier was a sprawling forest, at its center was the Demon King's castle sat on a large, rocky spire; massive pieces of manatite poked out from the spire, glowing blue in some places, purple in others, and an ominous red in yet some others.

_"Another set of woods…I'm getting real tired of this._ Megumin," I said as we ran.

She glanced at me. "Yeah, Kazuma?"

"I need you to hit those woods with the largest Explosion you got; leave nothing left of it."

Megumin smiled widely. "Aye, Aye, leader!" She came to an abrupt stop and ripped off her eye patch.

"Oh ruler of dark energies, let thy strength manifest within me; let this obstacle in my path bear the mark of weightless destruction. I call upon the cries of madness, fill my staff with the power to level the barrier in the home of darkness; flatten these woods! EXPLOSION!"

A second later, the ground shook as a massive shockwave ripped across the plains; the fireball growing to enormous proportions, engulfing an entire section of forest and creating a path straight towards the castle.

Megumin fell forward and smiled weakly. I picked her up and placed her on my back.

"Umu, good explosion," I said as I began running.

Megumin said nothing but I felt her hug me tighter. As we continued to run, I began to feel myself grow extremely tired; though I grew somewhat used to carrying Megumin, doing it while I was running, was not something I had the stamina for.

"Yunyun," I said breathlessly, "do you have another—"

As I began to ask her for some manatite, I could feel a massive surge of energy come over me.

_"Woah, what the—where did this energy come from? Aqua—no, buffs don't usually feel like this and I didn't hear her cast anything…"_

"Kazuma," Megumin said, "I'm not feeling tired anymore; it must be because of the manatite."

"Umu," Yunyun agreed, "the flow of mana is dense in here; any magic would be boosted to considerable levels."

"Should mean mana exhaustion shouldn't really be a thing while we're here too, right?" I queried.

"Theoretically speaking."

As we closed in on the castle, multiple monsters blocked our way causing us to stop.

"Dammit, so close too!" I said angrily.

"Fufu, stand back," Megumin said, climbing off me. She flicked her mantle proudly. "Witness the strength of a fully powered—"

"SACRED LIGHTNING BLARE!"

The attack eviscerated the group of enemies; all of us knew who it belonged to. Iris, Claire, and Rain walked in from behind us.

"Onii-sama, Iris-chan is here!" She said with a wide smile.

**Part 4**

"Iris," I said, happily turning to her.

"Iris, what do you think you're doing," Megumin said, stepping in front of me, "I was about to handle that group of enemies."

"Ah, sorry, Megumin-san." Iris leaned over and stepped to the side to speak with me. "Kazuma onii-sama, me and the others will stand by and make sure no other monsters chase you; go, do what you came for, defeat the Demon King."

"Ah, I'd feel better if Iris-chan came with me though."

Iris' face lit up in happiness. "Really? Ok, Iris-chan—"

"Will stay here," Megumin interrupted.

"Oi, what are you—"

"Iris can serve as our rearguard, if she goes in with us, who'll watch our back; Yunyun, you too, you stay with Iris and the others."

"Oi, Megumin, this is obviously because you're—"

Megumin slammed the end of her staff into the cobbled stone ground and glared at me; her eyes were glowing completely red. Though I would normally wave off her irritable temperament with threats and punishments, this time she stared sternly at me; with palpable amounts of anger. I stepped back and crossed my arms.

I leaned in close and whispered, "You forget that I could just—"

"Mana exhaustion doesn't work here; have fun draining me while reduce this entire place to ashes," Megumin replied curtly.

I stepped back worriedly but Megumin still glowered at me; she was being completely serious, and it was starting to make me feel uneasy.

"Oi, oi, fine; we'll do it your way this time," I said with a gulp. _"Damn lolimage thinks she can strongarm me into doing what she wants…once this is over, I'll show her."_

"Megumin-san," Iris said. Megumin turned sharply towards her; Darkness quickly placed her hand on Megumin's shoulder. "Please don't be so hard on Kazuma onii-sama."

Megumin closed her eyes for a couple seconds and after letting out a breath, reopened them; they were still glowing, albeit with much lower intensity. "Don't worry, Iris, guys like Kazuma need to be poked and prodded at every so often."

"Oi."

After that incident, we all went about our agreed tasks. As we walked towards the entrance of the Demon King's castle, I began thinking, _"Is Megumin starting to exhibit yandere-like qualities?"_ I stared at her, looking away only when she looked back. I shuddered at the thought; the last thing I needed was a crazy explosion-maniac blowing up everyone who even attempted to speak to me.

"Hey, Megumin," I said calmly.

"Hmm?" she said, looking at me. "What is it, Kazuma?"

"Hey, I don't mind women fighting over me, I feel it's quite endearing, but if you ever become a yandere, me and you are done."

Megumin froze in place as the rest of us continued walking.

Minutes later, as we began walking through the dimly lit corridors of the castle, Darkness approached me.

"Hey, Kazuma," she said in a hushed tone, "I think what you said to Megumin might've hit her a little hard."

I looked over my shoulder to see a downcast and lifeless mage trailing after us. "Tch, why is she being so dramatic; besides, who the hell would like some crazy chick, I'm not some sort of masochist like you, Darkness."

"Ka-Kazuma is this really the time to be poking fun at me?"

"She'll get over it."

"R-Really, Kazuma…I wish you would tell me something that would make me feel so terrible; I mean look at her, she appears as if she's contemplating her existence. Ka-Kazuma, if you could break my spirit so—"

"Oi, stop it already."

"Hey, hey, Kazuma-san," Aqua said, walking over to me, "don't you think it's kind of odd that we haven't been attacked by any monsters?"

"Oi, why are you setting up flags, would you stop that?"

But Aqua was right, we've been walking through the castle for some time now and we haven't seen a single creature or soul come out to attack us.

"Hmm, that **is** odd," Darkness agreed. "Are you getting anything with your detection skills, Kazuma?"

I shook my head. "I'm getting nothing."

"Are you saying there're no enemies here?" Aqua questioned in surprise.

"Or at the very least, none we can detect," I replied. "We need to stay sharp, just because we can't see something, doesn't mean there's nothing there."

Despite our expectations, our continued trek through the ascending floors of the castle yielded more of the same, empty corridors, filled only with the dim blue light of mana lamps.

"This is odd," I said looking around nervously, "no enemies, no traps, not even castle denizens; there's nothing here."

"It's almost as if the castle was abandoned," Aqua added.

We stared at her.

"Aqua," I said, "if we get to the throne room and find it empty, I'm tossing you off the top of this damn castle."

"How would that be my fault?!"

"You keep setting up stupid flags, would it kill you to be quiet for once?!"

After what seemed like hours of walking through corridors and climbing stairs, we finally made it to what was undoubtedly the corridor leading to the throne room.

"Finally," I said.

Even though I felt like I should be tired after all the walking, I remembered the mana present effectively gave us an infinite amount of stamina.

"Seems like an odd feature to have present around the castle," I said as we walked towards the door.

"What is?" Darkness queried.

"The whole manatite thing."

Megumin explained; though her voice lacked its usual enthusiasm. "Manatite grows wherever there's an abundance of mana present; when it's dense enough, it'll bind to things in the environment and crystalize into manatite."

"I don't think anyone is in charge of grounds keeping either," Darkness added.

"Alright, here we go guys; Darkness, you and me upfront, Aqua, you give us support, Megumin…"

She stared at me with hopeful eyes.

"Megumin, you stay back and do nothing; just stand there."

Her head drooped once more.

"Alright, let's go."

I pushed on the door, but it didn't budge.

"Ah, what's with…this…door," I said, struggling to push it. "Darkness, a little help."

"Oh, right."

Darkness ran over and began helping me push on the door, but despite our combined strength and efforts, the door refused to budge.

"Aqua, give us some buffs."

"Ah, right."

After having our strength buffed, both of us tried once more, again, no matter how much we pushed, the door refused to move.

"What the hell is wrong with this door?!" I yelled. "Does it need a key or something?" I scanned the surface of the door but noticed no keyhole.

"Umm…" Aqua walked up and pulled on the door handles; the door slid open effortlessly.

I stared at her in a mixture of anger and frustration. "Oi, there's no way you just suddenly knew that; how'd you find out?"

Aqua pointed at the sign above the door; it read, "Doors open outward, please pull".

"Why didn't you say anything?!"

Aqua struggled to hide her smirk and then burst out laughing. "Kazuma, you're so stupid!" She cried in hysterical laughter.

"Oi, Freeze," I said, casting the spell on her closed eyes.

"Ah, my eyes, I can't open them!"

"Alright, let's go."

"Ka-Kazuma, K-Kazuma-san, d-don't leave me like this; Darkness, Megumin, hey, guys! Ah, my eyes!"

Stepping into the throne room, we could feel an ominous presence; but in contrast to the gloomily lit passages of the castle, the throne room was furnished with large chandeliers and multiple stained-glass windows of varying sizes. In the center, was of course, the throne; large and in the design of a great demon devouring its sitter, it was gilded with blackened metal, the cushions a deep and dark crimson.

Upon it sat an intimidating figure, clad in a full suit of armor. Itself matching the design and color scheme of the throne, a flowing cape matching the darkened red colors of the cushion; this was the Demon King.

"The-The Demon King," Darkness stammered in awe.

As if to reply, the figure stood up and walked forward. I immediately withdrew my sword and stood in defense; even as I tried to hide my nervousness, the rattling of my blade gave it away.

"Finally," he said, "I waited so long, and finally someone's come."

"Are, are you…the Demon King?" I asked with a gulp.

"Umu, that's what people seem to call me these days…the Demon King."

Darkness stepped in front of me. "The same Demon King who captures pure maidens and does unspeakable acts to them while his subordinates watch in delight; **that** Demon King?"

"Uh, what?"

"Are you going to take your time stripping my armor while I—"

I pushed Darkness away. "Oi, that's enough, you wierdo masochist!"

The Demon King coughed.

"Kazuma!" Aqua yelled as she stormed into the throne room, Megumin following lazily. "You're gonna pay—"

"You!" the Demon King roared, pointing a finger at Aqua.

"Huh, me?" she said, pointing at herself in surprise. "Ah, wait, you're the Demon King, aren't you?!" Aqua instantly got into a fighting stance.

"Demon King?" Megumin said gloomily. She looked up. "Ah, the Demon King! What cool armor!" Her sadness was instantly dispelled and her characteristically childish fascination burst forth. "Ka-Kazuma, look at that armor, can we take it home after we beat him?!"

"Beat me?" the Demon King said in actual confusion. "No, no, I don't wanna fight." He waved his hand in disagreement.

"So, you're going to destroy—huh, what do you mean, you don't wanna fight?"

"Wait," I said, dropping my stance, "you don't wanna fight?"

"Right," the Demon King replied, "I'm not looking to fight you guys."

We all stared at each other.

"Nice try," I said, pulling up my stance again, "you'd have to be as stupid as Aqua to—"

"HEY!"

"—believe something like that."

"Really," he said, "I don't; actually, I have something very—"

"SACRED HIGH EXCORCSIM!"

As the holy magic engulfed the Demon King, we waited. When the light dissipated, the Demon King stood unfazed.

"Listen, stop this nonsense!"

"Kazuma, he didn't take any damage; how's this possible?!"

"It's alright, Aqua, I'll hit him with my Explosion magic and end this!"

"Stop it, you idiot, you'll kill us too!" I said, struggling with Megumin who was still determined to let one off.

"Ka-Kazuma, it's fine, we'll become martyrs who defeated the Demon King in a…climactic—"

"Stop!"

"—battle."

After the brief struggle, I managed to tear Megumin's staff away from her.

"If you keep doing stupid stuff, I'll bind you, got it?!"

Megumin looked away angrily.

"Kazuma, Kazuma, my spell didn't affect—"

"ENOUGH!" the Demon King yelled, catching our attention. "I have important stuff to tell you and there's not much time."

"Forget it!" Aqua yelled. "You may have taken one of my spells, but there's no way I'll let the King of Devils roam around on my watch!"

"You damn goddess, listen to me!"

As Aqua was about to attack, I pulled on her collar.

"Kazuma, what are you—"

"Let's at least listen to what he has to say; we made it this far, whatever happens, happens."

"Wait," Darkness said, stepping forward once more, "are you really not gonna abuse me; I'm a holy maiden devoted to the pursuit of eradicating your foul subjects and ending your rule over this land, are you really not gonna do anything; I-I won't resist…m-much, if you try."

The Demon King stepped back. "Uh, no, I mean, what kind of absurdity is that?"

Darkness staggered backwards and fell on her knees muttering incoherently; she wore an expression of complete shock and despair.

"Don't mind her, what is it you're trying to—"

"Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark…"

I instantly looked at the staff in my hand and then at Megumin. "Wait, how'd—"

"Fufufu, foolish, Kazuma, I can cast magic without my staff! I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson—"

"Bind."

"Wahh!" Megumin cried out as she fell to floor.

"GOD BLOW!" Aqua yelled as she ran forward.

"Wha—dammit, what's with you guys?!" I yelled angrily.

The Demon King parried Aqua's attack with marginal effort and tossed her back at me. As Aqua stood up rubbing her head, I smacked her with Megumin's staff.

"Ha-ow! What was that for?!" She cried.

"For being you! Stop it already, and just let the man speak!"

"He's the Demon King, Kazuma, he has nothing—"

"It has to do with the will of the gods," He interrupted.

We all paused and stared at him.

"Good, seems like I got your attention." He removed his helmet, revealing an old and shriveled man underneath. "My name is Satou, Satou Hei Hachi, and I was the hero who slayed the Demon King."

"Hero…who slayed…" my voice trailed off. _"He has the same name…"_

"Listen close," he said, standing firm, "what I'm about to tell you, very few people know; I'm going to tell you everything. Long ago, I was summoned to this world from my own, I was tasked with slaying the Demon King and returning order to this world. I trained long and hard in my efforts to defeat the Demon King and his army, and eventually, I succeeded.

"The interesting thing is, what the goddess who sent me here failed to tell me, was that upon my success against the Demon King, **I** was to become the next one. It was cruel trick of the gods I thought, to fight and bleed here for the sake of strangers and divine guidance only to be discarded once I had no further use. Thing is…becoming the Demon King wasn't the worst thing to happen, no, there were bigger problems.

"You see, upon becoming the next Demon King, I inherited the troubles and debts of the previous one. I inherited the great sacrifice of being part of the gods and devils 'Great Plan'. Perhaps your goddess there, the same one who sent me here, knows…maybe she forgot to tell you?"

We stared at Aqua, who was just as surprised.

"Me?" She queried.

"Oi, there's only one goddess in this room right now," I replied.

"Goddess?" Megumin and Darkness said doubtfully.

"I-I don't know what he's talking about!" Aqua said frantically.

"I highly doubt she doesn't," the Demon King informed.

"Ka-Kazuma, you have to believe me, I don't—"

I raised a hand for her to stop, and then looked at the Demon King. "Listen," I said, "I know one thing for sure; this one is too stupid—"

"Hey!"

"—to hide **anything**, especially information as important as you claim to be saying."

Almost as if he barely believed me, the Demon King sighed. "Well then, it isn't over," he said, "there's still more to be said."

I nodded. "Go on."

"There's a catch to all this…a system."

"A system?" Megumin queried, still bound.

"Umu, whoever slays the Demon King becomes the next, but the biggest issue with this is the barrier."

"The barrier?" Darkness said. "But we destroyed it."

"You did indeed, that's why you're here. The barrier has many functions; two of those functions are obvious. To keep things out, **but**…also to keep things in."

"Like yourself," Megumin answered.

He nodded.

"So, what's the third function?" I asked.

The Demon King grinned. "I'm sure you wondered why arguably the most dangerous place on this side of the world, has such an advantageous environment; all the manatite deposits essentially make anyone fighting here near unstoppable. Well there's a reason for it—"

"Large amounts of mana densely packed into one place," Megumin answered.

"…almost right, it's—"

Megumin continued, "A ridiculously powerful spell is drawing mana here, right?"

The Demon King raised a brow. "Crimson Demon; why am I not surprised…yes, you're right."

"But to get this amount of manatite forming, it would take—"

"God-tier levels of mana," the Demon King concluded. "Which is precisely what's happening."

I gulped as the scale and severity of what was taking place was beginning to dawn on me.

"The barrier," he continued, "is in itself, the basis to an even more powerful spell; one that dates back to beginnings of this world. It is a spell which draws on the life energy of the Demon King himself."

"But why?" I yelled in confusion.

"Because the Demon Kings are mere puppets; the threat here isn't the Demon Kings or the devils, it's even greater than that. One so great that even the gods themselves couldn't handle it."

"Is that why they summon us?"

"Partly, but I'm afraid it goes even deeper than that. I'm unsure, but perhaps you may have heard of the primordial war?"

I shook my head.

"The primordial war," Aqua interjected, "was a war fought by the gods against the devils long ago; the gods won and—"

The Demon King laughed. "Who told you that stupid lie; to think that even a goddess doesn't know the truth…or maybe she's playing dumb…" He narrowed his eyes. "Anyhow, that's not true…the gods lost—"

"**THAT'S** A LIE!"

"The gods lost," the Demon King continued. Me and Darkness struggled to hold Aqua back, who now full of rage. "The gods lost…but…the demons didn't win either."

Aqua relaxed slightly.

"So, it was a stalemate?" Darkness posed.

"Heh, I wonder if you could call it that; no, I think it's safer to say both sides lost rather than saying it was a draw."

"How's that—"

"There was a third side," Megumin answered.

Once again, the Demon King raised his brow, this time he stared proudly at her. "Indeed, there was another side, or rather, a bigger threat that both had. If the angels and gods had God, a supreme ruler, than it can only stand to reason that the demons and devils too, had a God."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked.

"The demons technically won the war, but the result wasn't what anyone was expecting."

"What happened?"

"The Demon God was ruthless, a true god of impurity, evil incarnate; it didn't matter to it whether you were an angel, a god, a demon or a devil; all were its prey, and all would equally suffer under its might. As you can see this was a lose-lose situation no matter what side you were on. So, putting aside their differences, the gods and devils of old forged a secret pact. The Demon Kings would become martyrs to keep the Demon God sealed, while the gods would provide 'heroes' as suitable replacements, they would watch over the seals to make sure they were maintained."

"Why 'heroes' though, why not just use other powerful devils?"

"They did, in combination, but summoned heroes provide the best bang-for-buck; no side has to sacrifice powerful individuals of their own, so no side ends up being weakened by this deal. The Demon King's generals, for instance, are meant to be fail-safes and assurances. Should an adventurer defeat all the generals, than it can be assumed they're a suitable replacement to become the next Demon King, and a great martyr and battery to keep the primordial spell active."

"But…if the spell drains the life force of the Demon King, that means…"

"That's right…I'm dying."

"So, what happens if you die before a suitable replacement is found?"

"Nothing…well, a couple things. The way a Demon King is chosen can be a couple of ways. First, is the tried and true way of killing the last one; whoever deals the actual killing blow becomes the next King. Second, is by nomination; a sitting King may nominate a new one to take his spot after his death. Lastly, is inheritance; in the event, the other two are left unfulfilled, the next of kin in the King's bloodline is automatically crowned Demon King."

"Wait," Megumin said, "so how does nomination work; do you simply choose someone and that's it?"

"Not quite; you choose someone, and they accept."

Megumin eyes lit up. "So, can you nominate me?!"

"Oi, you idiot, what are you talking about; haven't you been hearing all the negative things about becoming the Demon King?!"

"That's right, Megumin," Aqua chimed in. "If you become the next Demon King, I'll be forced to destroy you."

"Then you'll become the next one!" I yelled.

The Demon King gave a loud cough.

"Ah, sorry," I apologized, "please continue."

"Well that's about it; long story, short, the Demon Kings—ah wait, there **is** something else."

"Go on."

"There are **four** Demon Kings, I resided over the western territories and what is colloquially called, the 'Belzerg Seal'. There are three other areas, as you guessed it, in the other corners of the world."

"Gah, this is starting to sound like an RPG."

The Demon King laughed. "There's a term I haven't heard for a long time."

"Wait, just how old **are** you?"

"Probably at this point in my late thirties; it's only been about fifteen to twenty years since I've come here…probably."

"Eh, sorry to tell you this, but there's no way you're in your late thirties."

"Wha-What are you talking about, I'm definitely—"

I pulled out Aqua's hand mirror from my satchel and reflected his image.

"Ahhhh, what the hell, I'm freaking old; how long have I been here?!"

"Well," Megumin started, "if you're the hero from legends, then…it's probably been a couple…hundred…years?"

"No, no, no, no, there's no way that's right either," I interjected. "Knowing the Crimson Demons, it's likely they embellished the dates; they have a tendency to do that."

"Hey!" Megumin said, still coiled up.

"Anyways, it's your turn now," the Demon King said. "I'm tired of being the Demon King; slay me and let me return to my world."

"Oi, wait, if I do that, then I'll be stuck with this burden; no way, I'll pass."

"You, after I told you all this; you'd deny me my rest, my reward!" The Demon King stepped forward, clutching the massive greatsword he held at his side.

I stepped back nervously. "Hey, hey, wait, we could just wait till you died of old age or something; you seem to be pretty close."

He growled in refusal. "If you won't become the next Demon King, then I'll just have to kill you; that information is supposed to be passed from King to King, I can't have some nobodies carrying that out of here."

Before any of us could act, the Demon King was in front us, greatsword raised. In the split second he went to attack, we sat frozen, shocked by the agility such an old man displayed; then I remembered.

_"Oh yeah, this oji-san used to be an actual hero."_

The Demon King roared, "Cursed Explo—"

The greatsword slipped and fell back as the Demon King fell to his knees clutching at his breastplate. A second later, he keeled over, dead; an item rolling out as he did.

"He, he's dead?" I said in disbelief.

Aqua crawled up and checked his vitals, after several seconds, she turned back to us and nodded.

I walked up and grabbed the item on the floor. "He dropped this when he died; I wonder what it is."

"Kazuma," Megumin whined, "can you get me out of this now; I have no reason to cast Explosion."

"No, I think you stay there a little longer; maybe think about what got you there in the first place."

"S-Stop treating me like a kid, Kazuma!"

Ignoring her, I continued to stare at the disk-like object. "Looks like a medal of some sort," I said to myself.

Suddenly, a bright light washed over me and Aqua, pulling us slowly upward.

**Part 5**

"Ka-Kazuma, wait!" Megumin yelled.

Darkness grabbed onto Aqua while Megumin ran—still bound—and jumped, biting into my cloak. As we were lifted higher off the ground, the mantle began digging into my neck. I quickly unlatched it and held on. Beginning to tear from the weight, I tugged on it hard and grabbed on to the cables binding Megumin.

The light around us grew in intensity until we were blinded; when we finally recovered, we had arrived in a rather familiar room. Everything around us was pitch black, a single tall, white chair with a small end table near it were the only things visually present.

"Finally," it was the voice of the Goddess of Luck and Fortune, Eris, "we meet under better circumstances." She walked out from behind the chair and sat down.

"Chris?" Darkness muttered.

Eris looked at her and smiled. "Not quite, Lalatina."

Darkness immediately knelt. "Eris-sama…sorry, you sound…so…familiar."

"Eris, why are we here; are you sending me back to Heaven?!" Aqua said irritably.

"Aqua!" Darkness yelled, "Watch your mouth, that's the Goddess Eris you're yelling at!"

"Huh?" Aqua raised a brow and crossed her arms. "I know who she is, Darkness; Eris is my junior."

"Would you stop playing around?!" Darkness said through grit teeth.

"Really, Aqua," Megumin said, still bound, "it's starting to get sad…"

Aqua cried out desperately, "**I'm** a real goddess!"

As the scene went on, Eris—who was watching quietly—began giggling until she burst out in laughter.

Aqua whipped around. "What are you laughing at, Eris?!"

"I'm-I'm sorry, Aqua-senpai," She replied, trying to calm herself.

"Aqua-senpai?" Megumin and Darkness said in unison; they looked at each other, Aqua, and then, Eris.

Coughing lightly and setting herself back into a godly demeanor, Eris replied, "Yes, your long-time companion, is the actual Goddess of Water, Aqua…and also my senior in godhood." Eris added, somewhat embarrassed by the fact.

"Eris-sama," I said, "why are we here; we didn't die, did we?"

Eris turned her attention to me. "No, Kazuma-san, none of you died…thankfully; you've succeeded in your efforts against the Demon King and as such, I will grant you the wish of returning home."

As Eris explained, the dark room was filled with brilliant light, blinding us once more. As I shielded my eyes, I could just see Aqua and Eris staring, unfazed, into it.

"This is…" Eris said, getting up from the chair slowly.

"Heaven," Aqua finished, her voice uncharacteristically tender.

The next instant, there was a flash causing me—and presumably, the others—to go completely blind. As I clutched at my eyes, I felt a calming wind pass and eventually, my eyesight, return. When I opened them, we were standing in a large gazebo-type structure made of—what appeared to be—pristine, white marble. Surrounding the structure was an endless sea of flowers and grains at the height of their bloom. The ambience of the area was warm, but pleasant and a cool breeze blew through evenly.

As we looked around, Aqua remained frozen in place. I begged the question, "Are we—"

"In Heaven," Aqua replied, her voice solemn.

"Welcome home, my child," a serene voice said from behind us.

Aqua was the first to turn around; once she did, she clasped her hands over her mouth and collapsed to her knees, crying.

"Ambrosia oba-sama," She said through soft sobs.

Though we also had turned to see who this person was, we stood quiet and in shock. The woman before us was anything, but old—or in the very least, appeared anything but—she was astounding and exuded an aura of gold. Her hair (which she had in the same styles as Aqua's) was a golden blonde, flowed with an almost ethereal quality. Her eyes, which were a deep & dark blue, were narrow giving the appearance of infinite slyness; a small beauty spot adorning the corner of each eye. Her body, which was covered in loosely fitting white robes with golden trimming, was voluptuous in the extreme; fit, but not in excess; a body that made Darkness' own, appear average.

The woman, Ambrosia, held out her arms to Aqua and as if she needed nothing else, Aqua instantly got up and ran into her arms, hugging her; she sobbed loudly while she pressed her face into her chest. Ambrosia hugged her tenderly, rubbing the back of her head and caressing her in a motherly fashion.

"Aqua-chan," she said as she hugged her, "I'm glad to see you again."

Aqua hugged her tighter, her sobs becoming more pronounced. "Oba-sama, I missed you!"

"There, there, my child, won't you introduce me to your friends?"

Aqua pulled way slowly and sniffled, she nodded and turned around to face us, fiercely wiping away the tears that were streaming down her face.

"Everyone," she said, still sniffling intensely, "this is Ambrosia oba-sama."

Ambrosia smiled. "It's as Aqua-chan says, I am Ambrosia, Goddess of Drinks, Festivities, and Fertility; I welcome you to Heaven."

"Is this really Heaven?" I queried.

Ambrosia gave a nod. "It is…my little slice of it anyway. Putting that aside, please, have a seat; there's much to discuss."

She extended her arm as if to present a place to sit. I turned around, and sure enough, a small white table with a set of chairs was now present. Me, Megumin and Darkness took a seat; Aqua stood next to Ambrosia, who now sat across from us.

"I'm sure you've been told about the system in place, Kazuma-kun," She said, withdrawing a large wine urn from seemingly nowhere.

"Uh, yeah."

Ambrosia poured out wine into some glasses she procured from seemingly the same place the wine came from. As she slid each glass forward, she looked at Megumin and then at me.

With a sly smile, she said, "Why, Kazuma-kun, I didn't know you were into **that** kind of play."

"Huh?" I looked at her in confusion and then looked at Megumin. "…wha—no, no, no, you got the wrong idea!" I quickly undid the binding on Megumin and sighed. "Oi, you behave yourself," I said, frowning as I handed Megumin back her staff.

She quickly snatched it away and frowned back.

I picked up the glass of wine and after thanking our hostess, took a sip. Almost instantly, I felt my body go numb with an intoxicating amount of pleasure; as a result, the glass in my hand slipped from my grasp and rolled off the table to shatter below.

"Oh my," Ambrosia said, placing her hand on her forehead, "Kazuma-kun, forgive me; I forgot to dilute the wine, it's been so long since I've had to." She turned to Aqua. "Aqua-chan, can I ask you weaken the wine for your friends?"

"Of course, leave it to me, Oba-sama; don't worry about Kazuma, he can't handle his drinks anyway."

"Oi," I said in a slurred and heavy breath.

Aqua, who was drinking the undiluted wine, was happily purifying Megumin's and Darkness'.

"Hm, having Kazuma-kun in this state will complicate matters," Ambrosia remarked. With a wave of her hand, the feeling I had was completely gone.

I sat dumbfounded by the sudden sense of clarity and focus. The shattered glass and spilt wine were now mysteriously gone as well.

"On to the matter at hand," Ambrosia said, pouring out another glass for me, and then herself. Aqua quickly purified mine, before returning to her own. "Kazuma-kun, now that the Demon King has been defeated, you have some options available to you."

"Options," I said, hesitantly taking a sip from the glass, "what options?"

"As per the original agreement, option one is to leave this world and return to your own."

"Wait a minute, world? I though Japan was another country," Darkness interrupted.

"Technically, you aren't wrong," Ambrosia replied, taking a sip of the wine. "Japan **is** a country, just not one of this world."

Darkness stared in shock.

"Oh? Did you not tell her, Kazuma-kun?" She turned to Megumin. "And how about you?"

Megumin appeared only slightly surprised by the revelation. "…I had an idea," she replied. "I always thought it was sort of weird how Kazuma could invent so many different things, but now that you say it, it makes total sense."

"For the record, it's not like I tried to hide it…much."

"Well that's option one," Ambrosia said, taking another few sips of wine.

"And option two?"

"Option two should be obvious…it's become the next Demon King."

"…and the last?"

"Option three is the one I would highly advise against; however, if you're so inclined, it's to slay the remaining the Demon Kings and their 'god' and finally put an end to this miserable cycle."

"With those set of options, it should be rather obvious which one I should choose." Megumin and Darkness stared at me with bated breaths. "I choose option one; I want to return home."

"Ka-Kazuma!" Megumin yelled.

Darkness stared in surprise but said nothing.

"What, did you actually think I was gonna choose another option?!" I said, crossing my arms. "I wanna go back to Japan; I came here and did what was asked of me, so now I wanna go back…preferably—"

"Kazuma!"

"What?!" I shouted, angrily staring at her.

Megumin gazed at me with sad disbelief. "Are you really doing this; are you really gonna go…just like that?"

I sharply looked the other way. "…I—"

"I call upon my wish now!" she yelled. "You owe me this!"

"It's pointless to ask—"

"Then you have to do the punishment; which means you have to stay; you have to stay and accompany me—"

"It's over, Megumin!" I retorted loudly. "I'm done…I'm…I wanna go home…" I said, my voice trailing off as I averted her gaze.

Megumin remained silent; she looked away. I could hear her briefly mumble under her breath, "Liar."

It hurt to hear that, to see Megumin like this, but if I didn't go now, I knew I would never want to. It's been nearly two years and already I was feeling more comfortable here than back in Japan. As much as living here was painful and dangerous, I couldn't deny the many memorable moments I created with everyone. It hurt, I felt I was betraying them…but…didn't I also leave behind the memories and friends I've made back at home; would it be right for me to stay here, when I didn't even belong here?

Ambrosia spoke once more. "Alright, Kazuma-kun, option one it is; however, I should warn you, all your memories of this world will be erased; everyone will also forget anything associated with you…it'd be as if none of this ever happened."

My eyes widened. "My—"

"NO!" Megumin yelled, slamming her hand on to the table. "No, I refuse!" Her eyes were flaring, but tears streamed out of them ceaselessly.

We all stared at her in surprise, but Ambrosia smirked, slowly sipping the wine as Megumin went on.

"Kazuma," Megumin said with great effort, "please…stay…" She pressed fingers into the surface of the table in anguish.

"Megumin…"

I felt bad…really bad, I was hurting her. And I knew Darkness stayed quiet all this time despite her feelings; Darkness was the type of girl to place duty above her own desires. She knew this was mine, and if she complained it would make it that much harder for me; in that regard, I cherished her. However, Megumin was the polar opposite; when it came to matters concerning me, she placed them above almost all else. Though she tried to bite her tongue and respect my decision, self-control was not her way; Megumin was the type of girl who would stop at nothing once she set her sight on a goal, and in this instance, it was keeping me from leaving.

"Megumin, I…"

"I don't want"—she paused, trying to find the words to say—"…my memories…" She looked desperately at me."They're all I have…they're everything; at least leave me with those…please."

I stared at Ambrosia, hopeful that she had a way to fulfill such a request.

She shook her head. "There's no way; it's a matter of consistency; leaving memories of someone who doesn't exist tends to make things messy and overall worse," She explained.

"Then **I'll** become the Demon King!" Megumin shouted. "I'll become the Demon King in Kazuma's place!"

"Only Kazuma-kun has the right to the throne at the moment; you picked up an item when the Demon King died, right?" She said, looking to me.

"Uh, um, yeah." I fumbled through my pockets and withdrew the disc-like object.

"That's a 'Mark of Proof'," Ambrosia said, "any governing body on the planet knows what that means; you slain a Demon King. Megumin-chan," she said, turning to her, "if you wish to become the next King, Kazuma must take the throne and you must either kill him or have him pronounce you his inheritor; there is no other way."

Megumin stared at me resolutely.

"Oi, stop it; I'm not becoming the next Demon King…and neither are you, Megumin."

"But if I—"

I quickly grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close. "Would you stop being a brat?! Just forget about me; I never even belonged here anyways; you're a strange girl, but I've no—"

SMACK!

Megumin stared angrily, jaw clenched, tears streaming; her palm red from the force of the smack.

"Stop being a coward!" she shouted. "The man I fell in love with wouldn't abandon his friends, he wouldn't just give up on them, and he's reliable when it counts!" She grasped the amulet hidden beneath her robes and placed her reddened hand on my cheek; her face softened in grief. "Kazuma…was it a lie then…did none of it mean anything?"

I stared at her and then looked slightly away. She looked down despondently.

_"…I don't want my memories to be gone either._" I turned around and looked at Ambrosia. "…guess…guess I don't have much of a choice."

She raised a brow. "So, what is it going to be, Kazuma-kun?"

"*Sigh* Isn't it obvious? Option three's the only real one left, but…if I'm gonna stay here, then I'm not gonna suffer alone…"

"Kazuma," Darkness said happily.

I almost fell forward as Megumin pounced on my back, hugging me tightly.

"Just so you know," I said, looking over my shoulder, "I'm not ok with this, but…that punishment was gonna be too much to bear; so, consider your wish fulfilled."

"You have a lot to do," Ambrosia said. "Frankly speaking, I don't think you'll be able to do it without some divine intervention, so I'm sending Aqua-chan to accompany you."

"Wha?" Me and Aqua said in unison.

"That is, I'll send her after I get to spend time with her; it's been quite a while since I've seen my loveable little granddaughter."

"Eh, in that case, take your time."

Aqua shot me a glare. I looked away.

"Kazuma-kun, I need to speak with you alone."

"Huh, uh, ok…"

Megumin and Darkness stared at me, and then questioningly at Ambrosia. She merely smiled at them. A moment later, both walked away.

"You too, Aqua-chan," Ambrosia said.

Aqua was slightly stunned, but she complied, even if hesitantly.

After the others were far enough away, Ambrosia spoke. "That girl never had anyone; when I found her, she was all alone."

"Found her?"

Ambrosia glanced at me. "It shouldn't come as a surprise to you, I'm not really Aqua-chan's grandmother."

"Ah, true, you don't really look alike. Still, do gods even have family?"

She smiled. "Of course, Kazuma-kun; even gods have kin they can call their own. However"—she stared off into the scenery—"Aqua-chan is a little different; she never had anyone else…or in the very least, none that I know of."

_"No family…"_

"Part of me thinks she was orphaned during the war and left to wander…"

"The Primordial War?"

She nodded. "It wouldn't be surprising; many were lost during that time; her case wouldn't be especially unique. Anyway, Kazuma-kun, I've a personal favor to ask of you."

"Oh, a favor from a goddess; why do I get the feeling this is going to be a steep one?"

Ambrosia smiled faintly. "I ask that you keep looking over Aqua-chan for me."

"…seems I was right."

She giggled briefly. "…truth is, I've only seen her smile as much as she does when she's with you all."

"…how about when she's with you?"

Ambrosia looked back at Aqua who was speaking happily with Megumin and Darkness; Aqua caught her glance and smiled widely, waving as she did. Ambrosia reciprocated the act and then turned back to me.

"Kazuma-kun, to answer your question, it's not the same; the happiness she shows me is one of reverence and respect. In contrast, the happiness she shows you all is one of freedom, one without constraints or reservations, it's **true** happiness."

"*sigh*…it's not like I can refuse the request anyways."

Ambrosia smiled. "Thank you, Kazuma-kun." She turned to face me. "I think it's about time you've all headed back; as much as I've enjoyed your company, Heaven is not for mortals. I'll send Aqua-chan later. Good luck, Kazuma-kun, I will be watching and praying for your success."

When I blinked and opened my eyes, I was standing in the corridor leading to the entrance of the Demon King's castle. Megumin and Darkness looked around frantically as they approached me.

"Kazuma," Darkness said, "what happened, why are we suddenly back?"

"And where's Aqua?" Megumin added.

"We overstayed our welcome," I replied with a shrug.

"And Aqua?"

"She'll be back later…unfortunately."

"To think she was an actual goddess this entire time," Darkness muttered.

"Not that it matters," I remarked. "Listen, when she gets back, no special treatment; we can't let her ego get more inflated than it already is."

"But she's—"

"Oi, doesn't matter; Aqua's a useless goddess anyways."

Darkness looked rather uneasy about my command but sighed. "Alright, and to think I also got to see the Goddess Eris; what an eventful day it has been."

In agreement, we headed back towards the courtyard. As we approached the entrance, I could hear the young princess of Belzerg and her older brother, the first prince, arguing.

"Enough, Iris, that man is a scoundrel; there's no way he was able to defeat the Demon King, I'm fairly sure he's been—"

"Jatis onii-chan, you're being mean! Kazuma onii-sama is—"

"Onii-sama?! There you go again, calling that—"

"Oi!" I interjected, coming outside.

Iris whipped around. "Kazuma onii-sama!" She ran over and hugged me.

"Impossible," Jatis muttered. "What happened to the Demon King?"

"What do you think happened," I retorted in frustration. "He's dead."

Everyone in the courtyard, which included: the royal family, their attendants, soldiers, Bukkorori and his patrol group, a number of Crimson Mages, Dust and his group, Mitsurugi and several other adventurers all stared at me in disbelief.

"**You** killed the Demon King?" Jatis reiterated.

"Yeah, maybe this'll convince you." I withdrew the Mark of Proof and held it up to show him.

His jaw dropped. The King stepped past him. As he slowly walked over, everyone kneeled, me included. Once he stood before me, he held out his hand.

"May I see it?" He said.

I raised my head and handed him the item. The King examined it briefly and nodded.

"Indeed, this mark is proof of the Demon King's demise; Kazuma-dono, is your name, am I correct?"

I nervously replied. "Ah, y-yeah; I'm Kazuma."

"Kazuma-dono, may I see your adventurer's card?" He asked, handing me back the mark.

"Uhh…sure."

I pulled out my adventurer's card and stared at it embarrassingly; I was such a low level, however, upon closer inspection, I noticed the pulsing notice of ten available skill points. I went up ten levels for 'defeating' the Demon King; I was now level thirty. My feeling of happiness was brief as I remembered why I pulled out the card in the first place; I turned it over to the King.

He stared at the card, his eyes narrowing as he examined it. After what seemed like an eternity, he handed it back me, his face stern.

"Kazuma-dono…"

"Eh, yes, your majesty?" I replied nervously.

He stared solemnly.

"…"

"Thank you," he said, giving a sharp and deep bow. "I, the Kingdom of Belzerg, and her inhabitants are deeply grateful for what you and your team has accomplished; in recognition for your efforts I would like to present you all with rewards suitable for your achievements."

Everyone stood silent and in shock of the event being displayed.

"By royal decree," the King continued, "I, Lionel Stylish Sword Belzerg, hereby order Satou Kazuma and his companions to report to the royal capital tomorrow. Kazuma-dono, we will be holding ceremony for you and others; I hope to see you there."

_"Not like I really have a choice…_of-of course, your Majesty."

The King gave a brief nod and turned towards everyone else.

"Rejoice, the Demon King and his army has been defeated; thanks to valiant efforts of everyone present, the Kingdom of Belzerg and her allies can now know peace. Let us return home and celebrate such an occasion!"

Everyone rose, and then yelled in happiness. Me, Megumin, and Darkness looked at each other and smiled.

Sometime later, after the vast majority of people had left, Iris approached me with Rain and Claire.

"Onii-sama, I knew you would do it; I've had no doubt."

I smiled widely at the praise she was giving me. "Heh, seems like you're the only one I can really depend on, Iris-chan."

She smiled back. "Onii-sama, would you like a ride back to the capital; it'd save you the trouble of having to rush back tomorrow."

"Hm, not a bad idea, Iris-chan." I looked back at Megumin. "What's this, no protest?"

She looked away slightly. "…do what you wish; mine's been granted already." She tried to hide her timid smile from me but failed.

"How about you, Darkness?"

"Oh, me?" She replied in surprise. "Well, I have no objection to the idea; in fact, it seems the best choice given the circumstances."

"Hm, blacksmith oji-san told me to drop by the shop after the battle, but I guess since this a request from the royal family, he can wait."

Iris hugged me and then turned to Rain and Claire.

"Rain, let us return to the capital at once," She declared.

Rain nodded. "As you wish, Iris-sama."

The next instant, we were standing in the center of the palace courtyard.

Pulling away from me, Iris leaned forward cutely and said, "Have fun, Onii-sama; as much as I'd like to spend the day with you, there's some things I have to do."

"Thank you for choosing your responsibilities over this man, Iris-sama," Claire said. "Rain, would you take Iris-sama?"

She nodded, gently leading Iris away. Claire turned to me; she gave a brief cough and bowed deeply, surprising us.

"Th-Thank you, Kazuma-dono." She quickly straightened herself thereafter.

"Oh, what's this, even you're praising me?" I said with a grin. "I could get used to this kind of treatment."

"Ahem, p-please don't; we both know where that'll lead." Afterwards, Claire left.

"Well, now what?" Darkness said.

"Now, it's time for me to relax," I replied with a stretch. "You guys are free to do what you want."

Megumin turned to Darkness. "Hey, Darkness, wanna go to a bathhouse?"

Darkness smiled at the thought. "Umu…is it a mixed bath, Megumin?"

"Eh, of course not."

"…how unfortunate."

Both of us didn't need to imagine what Darkness was thinking with that kind of response.

"Alright, Kazuma," Megumin said, turning to me, "see you later."

"Umu."

With that, they both walked off towards the city. My immediate wish would be to go spend time with Iris, but seeing as she was busy, I looked up in thought. Food and drink were in order, then a bath, maybe rent a room in the process. As I thought about my plans, I too, headed into the city. By this time tomorrow, I'd imagine the streets would be filled with people, festivities would be in full swing, excitement and merriment to rival the greatest celebrations; it would perhaps be the last time I could enjoy some peace and quiet for a while.

"Peace and quiet", I thought; I just realized the absence of that annoying goddess. I thought being separated from her would bring me relief, but for some reason, I felt a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. I sighed, thinking then, "Guess, I must be really hungry".

Arriving at the adventurer's guild, I quickly took a seat and signaled one of the barmaids. After I made my order, I sat waiting. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice.

"Kazuma, that you?" Dust was here, somehow.

"Oi, Dust, what are you doing here; how'd you get here so quickly?"

"Hehe, Yunyun teleported us back here," he answered, pointing his thumb at Yunyun; she was speaking with Rin in the background. "Nevermind that," he said, quickly wrapping his arm around my neck, "I seem to recall you making a promise to me about some—"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I replied, shrugging his arm off. "Listen, Dust, I can't really drink too much—"

"Nonsense, you defeated the Demon King, Kazuma; this is the one time you **should** be drinking." Dust signaled the barmaid. "Unlimited drinks, tabs on him."

"Oi!"

Dust grinned. "Let the festivities commence, my friend; the day is still young, but we're gonna have one helluva night."

I stared at Dust and sighed. _"Maybe a couple drinks wouldn't be so bad."_


	9. Chapter 8: The New House

**Chapter 8: The New House **

**Part 1**

True to his word, I awoke on the cold, hard floor of the guild. Numerous other people were in similar circumstances; none other than Dust, included. As I rubbed my head in pain, the door to guild flew open; Megumin, along with Darkness and Yunyun, strutted in.

"There you are," Megumin said, staring angrily at me.

Darkness looked around in surprise. "What happened here?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Ugh, I don't even remember," I replied, trying to get on my feet.

"Kazuma, can you be any less responsible?" Megumin said, crossing her arms. "If it wasn't for Yunyun, who knows when we'd find you."

I scowled at Yunyun, who recoiled in nervousness. "Listen, Megumin, can you keep it down, my—"

"The ceremony is in two hours!" She said loudly.

I clasped my hand over her mouth. "Oi, didn't I just say to keep it down?!" I flinched at the noise of my own shouting.

Pulling my arm away from her, Megumin continued. "Kazuma, we don't have much time; you need to bathe and change. Even if we were to arrive with a Crimson Demon's sense of timing, we might be too late."

"Oi, that just means we'll be too late."

Ignoring what I said, Megumin continued, "Anyway, tell me you at least rented a room."

"Huh…oh…"

"Kazuma, really?"

"Sh-Shut up, listen, I didn't plan all this; I was just sort of sucked into it."

"Kazuma," Darkness interjected, "I really don't want to arrive late to a ceremony in honor of us; the embarrassment…" Darkness bit her lip.

"Oi, alright, just stop it already." I rubbed my head. "Oi, can you tell Aqua to—" I sucked my teeth in realization, and then sighed. "I'll rent a room—wait, where'd **you** guys stay at?"

"Oh, my family has a small estate in the capital," Darkness replied.

"Oi, why is this now just being revealed; how convenient it is to suddenly have—"

"Kazuma, the estate was being foreclosed on because of the debts incurred; until recently it wasn't really available for us to use; not only that, but because we had to sell a lot of things, it's barely furnished."

I gave her a slight frown. "Tch, who ever heard of a penniless noble."

"P-Penniless?!" Darkness made a face crossed between embarrassment and pleasure.

_"Ugh…so hopeless…_whatever, I'll rent the room."

"By the way, Kazuma, me and Megumin will bring back some proper attire; try not to take long in the bath."

"Yeah, yeah," I said waving her off. "You said we've got two hours or something, right; should be plenty of time."

As Kazuma walked off, I turned to Darkness and Yunyun.

"What a mess this place is," I commented as I looked around.

"Honestly, this was all Dust-san's fault," Yunyun said with a mildly agitated expression.

"Hmm, if it was that thing's doing, I've no doubt this how everything ended up…still, looks like it would've been a bit of fun."

"Megumin, we should hurry," Darkness reminded.

"Ah, right. Yunyun, what are you gonna do?"

She sighed deeply. "I suppose I can stick around with Megumin."

"Hey, what's with the heavy sigh?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Nothing."

Soon enough, the three of us pushed through the crowd of people permeating the streets of the capital; it was early morning and already the ability to traverse small distances was becoming increasingly difficult. Because of this, we arrived at a nearby tailors' shop in nearly an hour; there were several moments where I considered letting off an explosion to have everyone disperse. Yunyun and Darkness, however, protested heavily against my better judgment and so the streets remained crowded.

"Please don't think about doing anything that insane," Yunyun said as we opened the door and entered the shop.

There were crowds of people in the shop as well, all browsing or otherwise trying to purchase attires, presumably for the ceremony.

"Argh, this is impossible," I said, growing increasingly frustrated.

Darkness scratched her head worriedly. "This **is** a problem; at this rate, we might not be able to get anything before the ceremony begins."

I smiled widely as I came up with an idea. Turning to Darkness, I said loudly, "Miss Lalatina, of House Dustiness, you **did** say this was the tailors shop you recommended?!"

Everyone in the store suddenly look in our direction and several murmurs broke out between them.

"M-Megumin, what do you think you're doing?" Darkness said in a loud whisper.

"Ah, if only we could acquire a set of clothes for the ceremony in honor of you, Lady Dustiness, surely—"

Almost instantly an attendant was upon us. "Excuse me," she said quickly, "are you looking for something, Lady Dustiness?"

Darkness sighed heavily but played along. "Uh, um, yes, I happen to be in need of a garment for the ceremony."

"Do you have something in mind?" the attendant asked.

"Uh, well, it's a garment for a male."

"Oh, I see." The attendant gave a surreptitious smirk.

Darkness looked away in embarrassment. "Ahem, it's for…a friend."

"Umu, do you happen to know this 'friend's' size?"

"Uh, well…"

We all stared at each other with the realization we didn't know Kazuma's size.

"Ahem"—Darkness coughed—"um, no…"

"Oh," the attendant replied defeatedly, "I'm, I'm sorry, Lady Dustiness, but without sizes, we can't possibly make a proper garment for your friend."

"It-It's quite alright," Darkness replied, her face growing red. "Th-Thank you." Darkness grabbed my collar and dragged me out of the shop, Yunyun followed close behind.

When we got outside, she covered her face in shame. "Me-Megumin…"

"Eh, Darkness, sorry about that, are you…" As I looked at Darkness, I realized she wasn't feeling even remotely bad.

"Hehe, Megumin, to think that you could demonstrate such carelessness for your friends; you elicit almost the same levels of depravity Kazuma does."

"Eh, Darkness, that wasn't my intention and please don't compare my personality to Kazuma's." I looked around and sighed. "We're no closer to solving this problem than we were an hour ago."

"Couldn't we just head back to Axel and get a suit Kazuma already has?" Yunyun suggested.

Me and Darkness stood wide-eyed.

I coughed loudly. "Of-Of course, Yunyun; I was about to say the same thing."

Yunyun stared at me dubiously. "Right then, why not lead with that?" She remarked.

"Shush, Yunyun, do I have to think of everything; it's obvious I wanted you to think for yourself for once. Anyways, let's make haste, there isn't much time left."

Yunyun nodded and teleported us to Axel. Quickly, we headed to the mansion and burst through the door. Chomusuke, who was perched on the couch, meowed in shock and sped off deep into the mansion. Running upstairs, we stopped before Kazuma's room. "How odd", I thought; I came here so often and yet I felt so nervous about entering without him there. The other two stared at me.

"What?" I said, looking at them.

"Aren't you going to open the door?" Yunyun queried.

"Of-Of course, there isn't any issue." I cleared my throat. "I've been to Kazuma's room so many times, going in is nothing to me."

"Then quickly, open it," Darkness said.

"R-Right…I will." I slowly moved my hand to the doorknob and twisted it. The door unlocked and slowly creaked open.

Even as the door lay completely ajar, none of us stepped in.

"Me-Megumin," Yunyun said, staring into the room, and then at me, "g-go on; you should lead the way."

"Stop saying it like entering his room is some sort of expedition," I retorted, despite my hesitation.

Darkness spoke. "If-If you're afraid, Megumin, I could—"

I cut her off. "I'm not afraid, why would I be?!" I stepped forward nervously and entered; my heart began to race. I was extremely nervous, but I felt angry at myself because of it.

As soon as the other two saw me looking around, they too, entered. Darkness looked around curiously while Yunyun appeared to be trying her hardest to not touch anything. I walked over to the cabinet and opened it. Inside were a bunch of his normal adventurer's outfits, a single green yukata, and his tracksuit; no formalwear.

I stepped back in despair. "He has nothing," I said in an almost defeated tone.

Darkness and Yunyun turned to me.

"What do you mean?" Darkness asked.

"He has no suits!" I yelled in horror.

Of course he didn't; why would Kazuma ever need a suit? It wasn't like we were ever invited to someplace nice.

"No suits?" Darkness stepped past me and stared into the dresser. "Oh no."

"What do we do?" Yunyun said, looking to us nervously.

"Wait!" I yelled; I looked at Darkness. "Didn't Kazuma wear a suit when we first met Iris, and also that time you were being married off to Walther?"

Darkness looked up as she tried to remember. "…that's right, but, Megumin, that type of suit is meant for servants; it wouldn't be proper for Kazuma—"

"As if we have time to worry about such things!"

"No, you're right; let's go."

After coming to that agreement, we sped off towards the Dustiness mansion. Once we arrived, Darkness—who was being fawned over by her servants—quickly explained the situation.

"Umu," one the servants nodded, as Darkness finished her explanation. "Very good, Oujo-sama, we can bring you an appropriate suit for him; do you have his size?"

We all froze. The problem wasn't getting a suit, it was getting a suit in his size…a size which none of us knew.

"Dammit!" I yelled as we exited the grounds. Yunyun and Darkness stared at me in surprise. "Ugh, I can't believe we couldn't even get a suit for him."

"There isn't much time till the ceremony either," Darkness added. "Guess Kazuma will have to show up in his standard gear."

"No, Kazuma's our leader; we can't have him be embarrassed alone." I cleared my throat. "If he goes without formalwear, we shall too."

Darkness stared at me for moment and then smiled. "Umu, great idea, Megumin; we can all be embarrassed together."

She said that, but I knew she'd be the only taking pleasure in that situation.

"Yunyun, take us back."

She sighed and a moment later we were back at the capital surrounded by a sea of people.

"Gah, I forgot how crowded it was here," I said as we squeezed past a group of people.

"At this rate it might take us the rest of the time to just make it back to the guild hall," Darkness informed.

"That's even assuming he rented a room in the guild hall in the first place; he could've gone out to rent a room somewhere else."

"Are you intentionally setting up flags, Megumin?" Yunyun questioned.

"Of course not, Yunyun, there's no merit in setting up flags in this situation."

"Why would he rent a room elsewhere knowing we went out to get him something?" Darkness interjected.

"I don't know, that's just Kazuma," I replied, pushing through another group of people. I was growing frustrated by the difficulty of getting around.

"I find it hard to believe Kazuma would do something so questionable though, sorry!" Yunyun said as she pushed between a set of strangers.

"It wouldn't be entirely unusual; Kazuma often does things like that to bother us, excuse me," Darkness explained, sidling behind a crowd of bystanders.

As we continued dodging the crowds, we eventually made it to back to the guild hall in search of Kazuma. To no one's surprise, he was no longer there.

"*Sigh* great," I said, sitting down at one of the tables. "Not only are we gonna be late for the ceremony, but we have no idea where Kazuma went."

"Oh, Kazuma?" the sound of a familiar 'thing' said.

"Dust-san," Yunyun said.

"Hey, Yunyun, my darling friend and Kazuma's compatriots; I **may** have a lead as to where Kazuma could be," it said.

"Where?" I asked quickly.

"Ah, hold on, loli-chan; that information doesn't come free."

"…loli-chan, oi, Yunyun, can I blow this thing up; I can, right, you don't really care—"

"Hey, hey, don't blow me, besides being really bad for **me**, it'd be highly inconvenient for everyone else."

"Megumin, please calm down. Dust-san, please tell us, we're kind of in a hurry."

"Ah, no problem; I just need a promise from you, Yunyun, that's all."

"Promise, what type of promise?"

"Oh, it's nothing lewd, if that's what you're thinking; all I want is my good friend, Yunyun to treat me some drinks later on."

Yunyun stared at Dust and then turned to me. "It's fine, Megumin, you can blow 'it' up."

I turned and quickly began to chant.

"Hey, hey, ok, ok, you got it; I'll tell you where Kazuma is!" Dust replied nervously.

After receiving the somewhat dubious information from the 'thing', we all headed towards a nearby inn. As we arrived, we noticed the time; it was mere minutes before the beginning of the ceremony.

"Excuse me," I said, walking up to the receptionist lady, "we're looking for a person who may have checked in here recently."

"Name?"

"Satou Kazuma."

The receptionist looked over the logbook and seconds later nodded. "Yes, we have a guest by that name; room 302, three flights up, second room on the left."

"Thanks."

We sped up the stairs and arrived on the third floor.

"There," I said, pointing at the room.

As we approached it, the door opened; Kazuma walked out in a gaudy black and green suit and stared at us.

"Huh, what are you guys—"

I ran forward and grabbed him by the neck.

"You! You have any idea what we went through trying to, ahhahaha—"

Kazuma drained touched me and straightened his suit.

"What do you think?" He asked, posing for us.

"It's actually quite nice," Darkness replied.

"D-Darkness, this man has betrayed us," I said, slumped on the ground. "To think I was gonna suffer embarrassment for you," I said, clutching at leg of his pants.

"Kazuma, you should've let us know that you were gonna acquire your own clothing; it would've saved us a lot trouble," Darkness explained.

"Humph, trouble…funny, the very thing you both seem to cause me on an unending basis. Anyway, it's not like you guys know my size; I figured you would've either gotten me something too big or too small."

"How'd you even get room; with the amount of people in the capital, it should be next to impossible."

Kazuma smirked as he pulled out Iris' golden pin. "It helps having friends in high places."

"Gah, I should've known; you have no reservations about abusing authority."

"Damn right, Darkness! Now out of my way, the ceremony starts in a few minutes and I don't wanna be seen with a bunch of uncultured adventurers."

Kazuma kicked free of my grasp and proceeded downstairs.

"That man…Darkness, some help please," I said as I lay on the ground.

After traveling through the swarming streets, me and Darkness arrived at the city square barely on time. Yunyun split up, telling us she would be in the crowd, watching.

"Megumin, we have to get to the palace steps; we need to take our place with the decorated group," Darkness said as she carried me.

"Umu."

As Darkness tried to get past the barrier in place, a knight stopped her.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're—"

Reaching into Darkness' undergarment, I yanked out the necklace containing her family crest. "Sorry, Dustiness family, we're here on urgent business; let us through."

Almost stunned by the immediacy of my actions, both, Darkness and the knight stared at me.

"Ahem, forgive me, Lady Dustiness; please, come through."

"Uh, right, thank you," Darkness replied somewhat bewildered. Once we far enough away, she looked over her shoulder and frowned. "I'd appreciate it if you guys would stop using my—"

"That was as good a time as any to use your authority; Darkness, we're already late as it is."

Knowing that I had a point, she sighed deeply and pressed on.

"There he is," I said, pointing to Kazuma.

Darkness apologized as she pushed between the parties present and eventually stopped beside Kazuma.

"Ah, what took you guys so long?" He said, glancing at us.

"You drained me and then decided to abandon us!" I said in a loud whisper.

"Oi, you attacked me, remember; I was merely defending myself."

"Well give me back my energy then!"

"Are you crazy, do you know what'll happen to me if I use Drain Touch here?"

"You've already used Drain Touch in the capital before!"

"Th-That's different, I was using it in self-defense."

"Kazuma!"

"Argh, fine." Kazuma quickly exchanged enough mana for me to stand. "There, now shut up."

"Quiet you two," Darkness said, "ceremony's beginning."

On cue, the Royal Family walked out to the top of the steps and stopped. They each sported a traditional set of royal garments; on a mere glance, one could tell it was made by the best artisans in the kingdom and put together with the most expensive and finest set of materials that could be gathered. Iris immediately spotted us and gave a small nod as she smiled.

The King spoke. "Welcome all to this ceremony put together to celebrate the finest and bravest souls this kingdom has had the grace of harboring. I personally want to thank everyone present; it warms my heart to see so many gathered on this joyous occasion. Today we can smile and be happy, knowing that with the sacrifice of these brave men and woman, some not with us, we have finally obtained peace. It is my urgent wish to see this peace last as long as possible and as the sitting monarch, I can promise you that I will continue to try my very best to see that this is indeed the case. To many years of future peace and prosperity."

The plaza erupted into cheers as the King stepped back to sit on a throne, two others—smaller—were placed adjacent to his own. The Prince took his seat beside the King while Iris remained standing before the steps.

"Everyone," she said, her voice being amplified by magic, "it is my honor to present these awards and decorations on behalf of the King and kingdom. Without further ado, let this ceremony begin in earnest."

Party after party went up as they were called. As the time of day slipped from bright morning into high noon, the crowd of people waiting to receive their awards shrunk; soon enough, we were the last ones standing in the square. As the previous party descended the steps, Iris turned her view to us and smiled once more. Despite standing and speaking for so long, she showed no signs of weariness.

"Please rise, Party of Satou Kazuma," she said, holding out her arm.

After standing in place for so long, my legs almost gave out; it didn't help that I was barely given enough energy to stand hours earlier. Kazuma, from my observation, was fairing no better; as he stepped forward, he nearly fell. Luckily for him, Darkness caught him just in time.

"Should've let him fall," I murmured as we ascended the steps.

Darkness snickered as Kazuma shot me damning glare.

"Shhh," Darkness said as we came to the final steps.

Iris stared at us proudly; she smiled widely, struggling to contain her happiness. After some effort, her face regained its regal composure.

"This party," she said, "is deserving of the utmost respect; though I don't wish to claim any others that have come before us today are any less important, this party and its leader is largely responsible for the peace we have today. It is no exaggeration to say, that without this party's contribution, we wouldn't be here today and that the war against the Demon King's forces would still be in full swing.

"The first individual I want to reward is one who has served this kingdom faithfully and honorably for generations; known as the 'Shield of the Kingdom', Dustiness Ford Lalatina, rise and kneel before me."

Darkness ascended the final steps and kneeled.

Drawing the bladed regalia from her waist, Iris placed it gently over Darkness' head.

"In accordance with royal decree, I, Iris Stylish Sword Belzerg, hereby confer upon you the status of 'Hero'; any crimes committed against you are crimes committed against the crown. You are also granted the title of 'Holy Shield'. From this day forward, you will be known as, "Dustiness Ford 'Holy Shield' Lalatina, Shield of the Royal Line."

Iris tapped the blade over Darkness' shoulders and then held it up. Darkness stood up and descended to our side once more.

"The next individual is the man responsible for it all; vanquisher of the Demon King's generals and slayer of the Demon King himself; I present to you, the leader of the party, Satou Kazuma. Please rise and kneel before me."

Kazuma stood up prouder than I've ever seen him and carefully ascended the steps; if I had to guess he was probably scared of tripping.

Iris placed the sword over his head. Though she tried to keep her stoic composure, a smile seeped through the cracks.

"In recognition for your actions against the Demon King and his army, I, Iris Stylish Sword Belzerg, in accordance with royal decree, hereby confer upon you the titles of 'Slayer of the Demon King' and 'Sword of the Royal Line'. You are also granted the status of 'Hero' and the status of 'Noble'; with your name and the blessings of this royal line, the House of Satou is henceforth created. You will be known as Satou 'Slayer of the Demon King' Kazuma, first of his line, Master of House Satou and 'Sword of the Royal Line'."

All of us froze at this announcement; even as Iris finished giving the blessings, Kazuma remained unmoving.

"Kazuma," Darkness whispered loudly; however, he remained planted to the spot. "Kazuma!" she said louder, nevertheless he remained frozen.

"Onii-sama," Iris said; it was only then that he came to his senses. "Please, you have to go back down; there are still more surprises in store," She said with a smile.

Kazuma swallowed deeply and walked back down with a completely befuddled expression on his face; even as he took his place beside me, he continued with the puzzled look.

"The next individual isn't here with us today but is no less important. Serving as the Archpriest and first member of the party, Aqua. In recognition of her actions during the battle against the Demon King's General, Wolbach; the battle against the Demon King's General, Arateia; the storming of the Demon King's castle, and the defeat of the Demon King's General, Beldia; I, Iris Stylish Sword Belzerg, in accordance with royal decree, hereby confer upon her the title of 'High Priestess of the Axis Cult'. She is also granted the statuses of 'Hero' and 'Noble' as a member of the newly created, House Satou. She will henceforth be known as Satou Aqua, High Priestess of the Axis Cult; may she lead them to better pastures."

"The final individual is the second member of the party, a Crimson Demon with no equal, the party's Archmage, Megumin. Please rise and kneel before me."

I felt my heart swell with pride as I rose to the final steps. I took off my hat and placed it on my chest as I kneeled. Iris placed the sword upon my head.

"In recognition for your invaluable help against the Demon King's Generals Wolbach, Hans, Sylvia and Arateia, I, Iris Stylish Sword Belzerg, in accordance with royal decree, hereby confer upon you the statuses of 'Hero' and 'Noble', the title, 'Crimson Annihilator', and Matriarch of House Satou."

_"Wait…matriarch?"_

"You will henceforth be known as, Satou 'Crimson Annihilator' Megumin, first of her line, Matriarch of House Satou, wife of Satou 'Slayer of the Demon King' Kazuma."

I stared wide-eyed at Iris; she merely smiled as she gave me the blessings. She leaned forward and quickly whispered, "Take care of him for me." I was so overwhelmed by what was going through my mind that I remained kneeling. I could feel a knot in my throat and the world grow quiet; my heart was the only thing I could hear, and it beat loudly. "Wife?" I thought. "Matriarch?" "Noble?"

"Megumin!" Darkness shouted, grabbing my shoulder and bring me back to my senses.

"Huh—what?" I said, looking around frantically. As I took in my surroundings, I realized my mistake and quickly descended, nearly tripping.

I dared not look at Kazuma; I could only imagine what he was thinking. If my mind was racing at the thought of getting married, I could only guess as to what his might be doing. Iris descended the steps and stood before us.

"Forgive me," she said, "I've forced such a decision on you two without your consideration; would you two mind?"

At that instance, we were forced to look at each other; we slowly did, and our expressions were much the same; apprehension, fear, nervousness.

"Do, do you want to?" I asked, averting my gaze nervously.

Kazuma did the same. "I, I, don't know; I mean…" He looked at Iris and then back at me.

"I think you should," She said with a smile.

We both stared at her in perplexity.

"I'm never wrong when it comes to judging people's character…"

"Ka-Kazuma, you don't have to do—"

"Sure."

I stared at him. "Why?"

"…why not? If I end up not liking it, I can always just divorce you, right?" he replied, looking away. "B-Besides, I'll have others to fall back on if doesn't work out."

I placed my hat over my face and hugged him.

Iris stood up with a smile. "All rise, this ceremony is now complete, royal decrees in effect. For the prosperity of the kingdom and her allies!"

The entire plaza erupted into an explosive cheer as balloons and poppers went off. Iris gave us one last smile before ascending back up the steps.

**Part 2**

The following day, I, Satou Kazuma, locked myself in my room. After the ceremony concluded and we went home, Claire and Rain showed up at the mansion to give us information concerning the wedding. According to them, Iris-chan was going to handle it (how she knew how to plan a wedding was beyond me) and that it would take place in a mere week's time. I didn't know much about weddings—what I did know, was from the few bits I caught on television dramas and programs—but I felt like a week was an abnormally fast time to get everything prepared; still, if anyone could do it, it would probably be her.

It wouldn't be wrong to say I was a nervous wreck. Though I agreed to the marriage, it was spur-of-the-moment. And as much as I may have wanted to reconsider, I feared how Megumin would react; still, it wasn't like I didn't like her. Simply put, I didn't know what marriage was all about; I, no, **we**, were still young and if this were Japan, this type of marriage would've been highly illegal. Although, my mind was filled with a swirl of negative thoughts, reconsiderations, and regrets, I felt a sort of warmness in my heart whenever I thought about Megumin; about how she would look in a wedding dress.

I covered my face with my pillow, but I couldn't stop thinking, I couldn't calm down. Who could I go for such questions and worries; no one I knew was…then it hit me, Megumin's parents, they would be my in-laws. The thought was enough to send shivers down my spine; if Yuiyui-san was bold enough to put us in questionable situations while we were merely companions, God only knows what she would try once we were married. I sighed as I turned over.

"Kazuma," Darkness said as she knocked on my door.

"What is it?" I said in an exhausted tone.

"I made food; you should come out and have something to eat; I left it on the—"

"Just leave it outside my door; I'll get it later."

"Eh, well…o-ok."

Seconds later, I heard her walk away.

I raised my hand to face and stared at it; I was trembling. I put it down and sighed. This was just like back then; like back in Japan. Whenever I was concerned about something, I would lock myself away and try and distract myself. It worked over there, but here—with so little means of distraction—it was far more difficult. Then once again, my mind drifted to thoughts of Megumin, as it had this past day; I wonder how she was fairing with all this? She came to see me shortly after we returned, but ever since I locked myself in my room, she hasn't.

I closed my eyes and the many thoughts that plagued me flowed in like a torrent of water. I clenched my jaw and pressed my eyelids tighter, but still, the thoughts assailed me. I wanted sleep it away, I wanted to sleep and when I woke up, find this was all a dream; that it was all a fleeting thought. I continued to fight with myself for what seemed like hours; finally, giving up, I rose out of bed. I stared at my door uneasily; the entrance to my sanctuary. I walked over and grabbed the doorknob.

_"Come on, Kazuma, turn it; just go, leave."_

I let go and stepped back, clenching my hand into a fist. I turned around and sat back down on my bed. I still wasn't ready…

"Megumin, are you ok?" Darkness said as she stared at me eating.

I ate slowly, my gaze matching it, I looked at her. "Why wouldn't I be?" I replied.

"You…seem to be eating kind of…slow."

"Ah." I cleared my throat. "Sorry, have a lot on my mind."

"Ah, right."

The table grew silent, the scraping of utensils on ceramic plate permeated the silence.

"I'm nervous," I finally said as I continued to eat.

Darkness looked up at me in surprise and smiled faintly. "…I think that's normal; anyone in your position would be."

"…is this how you felt during yours?"

"Yes, but for different reasons…do you not want to get married to Kazuma; I can understand that—"

"I love Kazuma," I replied with a weak smile, it slowly dissipated. "My concern isn't my own."

"Ah, I see; you're worried about him."

I gave a slight nod.

"I don't think you should be too worried; after all, when has Kazuma ever done something he didn't really want to do? I mean, sure we drag him into situations he really doesn't want to be in, but in the end, he's only filled with mild regret."

I stared blankly at her. "…thanks, Darkness."

At that moment, she reminded me of Aqua's absence.

"S-Sorry, that's not what I meant," Darkness said, looking down. "I-I know, do you want to go do your daily Explosion, perhaps that'll help ease your mind?"

"…umu, not a bad idea."

As we got up to go, the front door burst open and a winded Yunyun stood at its entrance, doubled over.

"Me…gumin!" She yelled through the panting breaths.

"Yunyun, what are you—"

She ran over and hugged me tightly. "I heard!" She shouted happily.

"Eh?"

"Don't play dumb, I heard you're getting married; I'm a little jealous Megumin is growing up so fast."

"Gah, let go, you're crushing me with your absurd breasts."

Yunyun quickly backed off, but she was still smiling widely.

"This behavior is odd for Yunyun, why are you so happy for me?"

Taking offense to that remark, Yunyun frowned at me. "Of course I'd be happy for my fr—rival; she's getting married with someone she truly loves…even though I may question her choice of partner."

I couldn't help but smile at this girl's silliness. "Well, me and Darkness are headed to do my daily Explosion; you may accompany me if you so desire."

"Eh, well, I think I'll pass then."

"Oi, don't be such an ingrate; I just invited you somewhere, and you're gonna turn down my offer?!"

"W-Well Megumin already has someone going with her so—"

"Fine then, I see Yunyun has more important matters to attend to; perhaps she too has found someone worthy—"

"Stop, stop, I'll go!" She said, covering my mouth in embarrassment.

As we walked towards the town gate, various people praised us and congratulated me. I was wholly unused to this kind of behavior, so I found it difficult to stop myself from being so flustered; this led to Yunyun teasing me.

"That's enough, Yunyun," I said as we approached my designated explosion area.

Yunyun giggled. "I think it's cute to see Megumin act so girly sometimes."

"What's that supposed to mean? Anyone would act the way I had, right, Darkness?"

Darkness, who was barely paying attention, looked at me. "Huh—oh, yes, of course!"

I frowned at her. "Why am I asking you, you're probably used to that kind of stuff anyways."

Darkness laughed lightly. "Don't worry, Megumin, you'll grow used to it."

"Still," Yunyun said, "I'm surprised Iris-chan was the one to announce that; I wouldn't have imagined her to be someone to accept a marriage between you two."

And there it was said; she voiced my concern. It was a thought I had the moment Iris made the declaration.

Darkness rubbed her chin. "Honestly, I found it a bit odd myself, but…"

"You think there's some underlying issue to it?" I queried, getting ready to concentrate.

"Iris hime-sama isn't the type of person to have such malicious intentions; indeed, if she does have a reason unbeknownst to us, I'm sure it isn't something that would bring harm to anyone, physical or otherwise."

True, from what I knew about Iris, she wasn't the type of person who would scheme behind another's back; still, I couldn't help but feel there was a hidden agenda behind the entire marriage.

"EXPLOSION!"

"Hey, Megumin," Yunyun said as we began returning to town, "if you're so worried about there being some hidden reason behind the whole thing, why not ask Iris-chan herself?"

The thought never really occurred to me, but I **could** ask her; I don't believe Iris would try to hide anything, and even if she did, I feel it would be immediately apparent.

"Hm, Yunyun, that's not a bad idea; perhaps I will," I replied from Darkness' back. "By the way," I said, looking towards her, "are my parents aware of the whole thing?"

"Oh, well, I haven't really returned to the village; I spent the night at the inn."

"Oh?"

"I was out doing errands for Vanir-san."

"*Sigh* what an easily-manipulated girl you are, Yunyun."

"Wha-what is Megumin saying, V-Vanir-san is my friend!"

I shook my head in a mixture of pity and disbelief; it was honestly no surprise to me that she would actually believe a devil would be her friend.

"Listen, Yunyun, since you're **my** friend, I don't wish for you to make such huge blunders in life; while Vanir-san isn't a terrible devil, he's certainly not anyone's 'friend'."

Darkness interjected. "I believe Vanir-san is a good person."

"Darkness, shut up, your opinion here is invalid thanks to your once symbiotic relationship."

She sighed, knowing she had no comeback.

"Anyhow, you should be more weary about doing stuff for Vanir-san; even Kazuma tends to be led along."

"I don't really think it's ever come out bad for Kazuma though," Darkness pointed out.

"Just because it hasn't doesn't mean it'll always be that way; of the many things I've learned, devils are not to be trusted."

"Well, it's not really surprising to hear that from you, a Crimson Demon."

"I'm actually surprised that you'd be some forthcoming about being amicable with devils, Darkness-san; you know, on the count of you being a follower of Eris," Yunyun said.

"True, though I follow the Goddess Eris' principles, I feel like I'm a bit open-minded when it comes to certain things."

Given Darkness' masochistic tendencies, this wasn't too surprising; I'd imagine one would need a fairly open mind to enjoy that kind of stuff.

Arriving at the city gates, I was once again treated with praise; I pulled my hat down in embarrassment as Darkness and Yunyun snickered quietly. Soon after, we made it back to the mansion; a woman with a rigid attitude and a familiar white outfit stood before the door.

"Claire?" Darkness queried.

She turned to face us. "Ahem, hi; I've been knocking on the door for some time now."

"Do you need something?"

"Right, I've come bearing some news for the Lord of this estate."

We looked at each other. "Kazuma?" I replied.

Claire nodded.

"Me being the Matriarch of this household, shouldn't I—"

"Not yet," Claire interrupted. "Officially, you aren't until the completion of the marriage; as such, I must speak with the Lord."

I looked at Darkness, she nodded in response.

"Claire, as adjutant Lord of Axel, may I ask what message you bring?"

She stared at Darkness with some irritation but sighed. "Technically, even you have no authority to know the messages meant for other lords; however, I feel like this will go on far longer than I'd like it to, if I don't concede on the matter. It's the matter of this estate; Iris-sama has sent me to ask Kazuma-dono if he'd like to construct a proper mansion."

"Huh, what do you—"

"This mansion was acquired as compensation, am I correct?"

Me and Darkness looked at each other, then Claire; we nodded.

"So, it's more like a lease; quite simply, the mansion doesn't belong to Kazuma-dono, it belongs to the city. As such, Iris-sama has deemed it necessary for the construction of a new mansion, one that'll be owned by Kazuma-dono."

"Hmm, I see; unfortunately, I don't think Kazuma is available," I informed.

She closed her eyes and briefly stood in silence. "…very well," Claire replied, opening her eyes once more. "I'll leave this letter for you to give him; you should know this isn't something I would normally do; however, I know you've been rather preoccupied as of late." She withdrew a letter from her coat pocket and handed it to me.

After that, Claire gave a short bow and left. Yunyun stared at me with a smile.

"What?" I said, mildly creeped out by her.

"To think Megumin would so readily adapt to being a noble."

"…I-I've had some practice; you know, with Darkness and stuff…"

Darkness readjusted me on her back. "Sure, Megumin, but I'm pretty sure the only practice you've had is abusing my authority."

"…can we go in already?"

The two of them smiled at my sense of embarrassment once more as we headed inside. Darkness placed me on the couch and sat down beside me, Yunyun sat across.

"Now what?" Yunyun asked.

"I think you should give that letter to Kazuma, Megumin," Darkness said as she looked my way.

"I can't really move at the moment—"

Yunyun took out a Demon Wafer. "Here," she said, trying to hand me one.

"Do, do you just carry those around everywhere you go?" I said uneasily.

"Wha-what's wrong with that?! They're highly nutritious snacks and great for mages who travel; I see nothing wrong with it!"

"Ugh, you're one of the only people I know who prefer those things; truly, Yunyun, I've gotta congratulate you on your strength of will; I think I'd rather starve than willingly eat one of those."

"Are they really that bad?" Darkness asked curiously.

"Whether they're good or bad doesn't matter; eating one restores mana," Yunyun answered.

"Sure, if the taste doesn't kill you first," I retorted tiredly.

"No one's ever died of something like that!"

"Then perhaps I'll be the first."

"Megumin!"

"Ugh, fine," I said, grabbing the bar from her hand. I stared at it tentatively and then stuffed it into my mouth, whole.

After several seconds of munching, I swallowed, tears beading the corner of my eyes. Within seconds I could feel my stamina return; it wasn't much, but it was enough to allow movement.

"Yunyun, are we no longer friends; to think you would readily put me through such displeasure."

Darkness looked between us with increasing excitement. "Hey, Yunyun-san, are they really bad?!" She asked eagerly.

I got up and walked away as Yunyun was left trying to calm Darkness down. Reaching the second floor, I found Chomusuke sleeping just outside Kazuma's room; I picked her up.

"Hey, Chomusuke, are you keeping watch over our leader?" I scratched her behind the ears, and then placed her in my robe. As I went to knock, I hesitated; I began to feel overwhelmingly nervous. I took a couple deep breaths and calmed myself. "…Kazuma," I said, lightly knocking on the door.

There was no response.

Again, I knocked. "Kazuma…I have something for you."

Still, no response.

I grabbed the doorknob and turned it; the door opened. Kazuma was lying in bed, staring up at ceiling; he looked at me as the door opened.

"Oi, if no one answers it usually means they don't want to be bothered."

I walked in and closed the door behind me. "Am I bothering you?" I asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"…what is it?" He replied, exhaustion present in his voice.

"Are you ok?" I looked back at him in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, sitting up. "Why'd you come?" He asked, grabbing Chomusuke from me.

"Do I need a reason now?"

"…you know what I mean."

"You haven't left your room."

"…I needed time to think."

"If, if it's bothering you that much—"

"It is…"

I felt my heart grow heavy as he said those words. I looked away. "You don't have to do this on my account…I didn't ask for this."

"But you don't mind."

"Of course I don't; I've had it in mind to be with you for as long I resolved to love you."

Kazuma smiled weakly. "If I'm honest, Megumin, I never imagined something like this happening; or rather, I imagined it, but never believed it would happen. I thought events like this were for the true heroes in fairytales; things like defeating the Demon King, being successful, praised…loved; I thought all of it was something I could never have, it wasn't…me."

I smiled; to think he would show such a weak side of himself. "And who said, you could never have those things? Was it you? Why wouldn't you be worthy of such things? Ever the pessimist you are, Kazuma; it's a good thing you have others around you to balance that awful trait."

"Umu, I owe a lot to you all." Kazuma stopped petting Chomusuke and looked up at ceiling. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice breaking. He closed his eyes for a moment and then spoke once more. "I'm sorry I tried to leave."

I leaned on him. "But you didn't…you stayed."

"Yeah, after much coercion; _pretty much after I found out I would lose my memories of you."_

"Kazuma," I said, looking at him, "I think I could live with you gone; it would hurt a lot, but I think I could do it. The one thing I can't live without, however, is the memories we've had, all of us; take that away and I would rather fade away to nothingness than to live in a world where I could remember none of this."

He looked away. "M…Megumin, am I really ok…for you?"

Such an uncharacteristically sweet side of Kazuma was on display; it was odd, really odd, but it wasn't as if I didn't like it. Perhaps behind all the scuminess and perversion there was this, the core of a young boy whose heart was broken as a kid, who still had his doubts, and who built up a wall to defend himself against future heartache; perhaps, this is why very few people knew of this side.

I got up and stood in front of him. Kazuma stared at me perplexedly. Gently wrapping my arms around the back of his neck, I laid my head by his own and hugged him.

"Of course, you're our leader, you're my boyfriend, you're Kazuma and I love everything about you."

As I pulled away, he stared at me with wavering eyes; he quickly averted his gaze.

"You, you have a way with words, Megumin," He said breathlessly.

"Crimson Demons must, how else are we supposed to come up with cool lines; I **am**, however, a cut above the rest so…oh! That's right, I actually came to give you this letter."

I quickly withdrew the piece of parchment and handed it to him. Kazuma stood up and quickly turned away from me; the motion of his arm told me he was wiping his face. After some minutes reading over the letter, he folded it back up.

"I don't think it'd be necessary; I'll just buy the mansion from the city," he said, turning back to me and handing the paper over. "That being said, the letter also noted that as a noble, I'm entitled to a compliment of servants."

"Servants?"

"Umu, like maids and butlers."

_"Oh no, I already know where this is going; knowing Kazuma, he's gonna say something like—"_

"MAIDS, ALL MAIDS! We'll have nothing but maids as our servants; I'll accept nothing else. And we'll accept them even if they're from another race, no, we must, no, we **will **have a multiracial set of beautiful—"

"Forget it," I said, cutting him off.

"Oi, **I'm** the Lord—"

"I said, forget it!"

Seeing me grow agitated, Kazuma backed off. He was right though, technically he had the right to choose who would serve in this house so…I compromised.

"One maid," I said.

"One, just one?"

I nodded.

"Tch…maybe I should get married to a more understanding woman."

I began chanting. Kazuma quickly grabbed me.

"Ok, ok, one maid; but I choose."

I smiled and nodded.

After that discussion, we headed downstairs. Darkness was doubled over panting; her ears and face red with pleasure. Yunyun stood over her, trying to calm her.

"Ka-Kazuma, Megumin," She said as she breathlessly looked back at us.

"Please help," Yunyun said desperately.

"What did you do, Yunyun?" I asked.

"I-I just gave her a Demon Wafer, and all of a sudden—"

"Ah, makes sense," Kazuma interjected.

"They're terrible!" Darkness screamed in delight. "Ugh, the feeling of a dry and thick piece of coagulated sludge slowly traveling down my throat; I felt like I was about to choke at least seven times—"

"Oi, oi, Darkness, that's enough; that level of description is both unnecessary and ridiculous."

"Oh, Kazuma-kun, did Megumin give you the letter?" Yunyun asked.

"Umu."

Gasping for breaths, Darkness struggled to her feet. "So, does that mean we're getting a new house?"

"No need, not only will making a larger house cost more in upkeep, but it'll also mean we need more people to fill it; the current mansion is good enough."

"Hm, well said."

"Anyways, there's no rush; if I ever change my mind, we could just get another."

"I don't think Anna will appreciate new people though," I said.

"Anna?" Yunyun said, "Who's Anna?"

"Oh, Anna's the ghost of the previous owner's daughter."

"What, ghost, this place is haunted?!"

"Eh, not really; well, not anymore, anyways," Kazuma replied nonchalantly.

Yunyun began looking around nervously.

I smirked as I noticed. _"Hmm, Yunyun's afraid now…good to know."_

"By the way, Kazuma," Darkness said, "did you end up eating?"

"Umu, although Chomusuke seemed to get to it first."

"Kazuma, want me to cook something for you?" I said, turning to face him.

He stared at me with some surprise, but quickly looked away; his ears were red.

"N-No, I'm good."

I walked around in front of him, but he quickly turned away once more.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I just…can I look where I want?"

"You're acting odd."

"And you keep harassing me."

"Huh, I'm not—"

"Listen, I'm going out, you guys do what you want; I got some things I need to take care of."

"Huh, wait, Kazuma!"

Even as I shouted after him, he left.

"I wonder why he was so embarrassed about me cooking for him; it's not like it'd be the first time."

Darkness agreed. "Hmm, that **was** odd."

"Maybe he wasn't hungry after all?" Yunyun remarked.

I arrived at Wiz's shop and knocked on the door; it was still midday so the store would have to be open (not that the time of day would ever be a reason for them being closed). Vanir opened the door, his initial appearance was moderately hostile, but quickly relaxed as he saw me.

"Ah, if it isn't the brat; I see you've returned from your encounter with the Demon King, please, do come in." Vanir stepped aside and allowed me to enter.

As I stepped inside, I could see one of the Vanir clones being used as a resting post for Emperor Zell; needless to say, seeing the oversized chicken reminded me of Aqua.

"So, will you recount your tales to moi?" Vanir said, resuming what was presumably work.

"What's the point; you already know what happened, don't you?"

"Does the brat have to be so drab; are you really going to visit the shop just to ask if moi has finished with thy invention?"

I sighed. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"How about the brat's marriage to the Crimson Demon girl?"

"…"

"Mwahaha, please do come more often; tell your friends as well, I'm sure you associate yourself with other more embarrassing—"

"Ok, you made your point. What should I even tell you?"

"There are things moi **can't** see, tell me of those; **those** are the most interesting."

"How am I supposed—"

"Where is the annoying goddess, what happened after the Demon King died, and what comes next; how much do you know, brat? Moi has the feeling, at this point in time, thou knows more than even moi does."

I spent the next hour or so telling this devil-with-the-gift-of-foresight about everything that happened. At the end, Vanir was no longer distracted with the frivolities of managing the store; no, he was fully engrossed in my recounting of events and smiled devilishly as I finished.

"There are few things moi likes more than negative emotions, but knowing the unknowable satiates a primal thirst in moi; for this, moi is grateful to the brat."

"Eh, I don't know if I should feel good about that."

Vanir laughed. "Umu, indeed, bringing pleasure to a devil oft runs in contradiction to mortal intentions."

I stared somewhat worriedly at him. He laughed once more.

"Now then, brat; you've come primarily to know of thy invention. Moi has finished the prototype and would like for you to have it." Vanir handed me a box; it was heavy. Knowing what was inside, this was expected. "If the brat runs into any issues, please let moi know."

**Part 3**

I returned to the mansion and lightly kicked at front door.

"Oi!" I yelled, readjusting the heavy box in my arms.

Darkness answered the door. "Kazuma, what's that?" She asked as I pushed past her.

The scent of food flooded my senses as I made my way to the tea table; guess Megumin decided to cook after all. I placed the box down and sat on the couch with a heavy sigh. Darkness opened the box; a look of confusion came over her.

"Kazuma, is this another one of your inventions?"

I smiled proudly. "Yup, that's right."

"Or rather, it's another one of the things he's brought over from Japan," Megumin said, wiping her hands as she came out the kitchen.

"I mean you're not wrong, but **this** will change everything."

"What is it?" Megumin said, looking over it.

"**This**, is an A/C unit; a portable one."

"Doesn't look too portable."

"Well, that's because they're not really meant to be moved around too much; an actual unit is much bigger though."

"What does it do?" Darkness asked, pulling it out of the box.

"Heh, this thing right here, is basically a climate controller."

"Climate control?" both of them said in surprise.

"Mhm, all you do is plug it in, set the temperature you want, and let it do its work; after a little while you'll either have a toasty room or a cool one."

Megumin inspected it closely. "Looks like it uses mana."

"Umu, most of the stuff Vanir makes basically utilizes mana instead of electricity."

"Electricity?" Darkness queried. "Like lightning magic?"

"Umu, in my world, electricity is the main form of power; I feel it's a bit less convenient than magic is though."

"Hmm, what an odd place; how would that even work?" Darkness said as she pondered my reality.

I looked around. "Hey, where's Yunyun?"

"Oh, she left just a while ago; said she had to return to village," Megumin replied. "Hey, hey, Kazuma, Kazuma, are you gonna put this thing in my room?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Huh, no, of course not; it's going in **my** room."

Megumin pouted. "No fair, you've got your freezing magic to cool you down and the kotatsu to keep you warm; stop hogging all the useful things!"

"Oi, why don't you spec into some basic magic then; I'm sure you have plenty of skill points to do so!" I immediately remembered that I too, had ten skill points at my disposal. "Anyways, this is going in my room; once Vanir finishes some other units, I'll set some up for everyone."

I grabbed the A/C and began to walk to my room.

"Kazuma," Megumin said, jumping in front of me.

"What is it?" I replied, adjusting the heavy unit.

"Come eat with us after you're done."

"Eh, but I'm not really—"

"Please…it's lonely if it's just me and Darkness."

"*Sigh* alright; can I go now, this thing is heavy."

Megumin smiled and stepped aside.

After placing the A/C in my room, I headed back down; Megumin and Darkness were already sitting at the table waiting for me. As I took my seat, Megumin spoke.

"Wish Aqua was here with us."

Darkness nodded.

I sighed. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be back at some point; Ambrosia-sama said she'll send her back down after they've caught up."

"Hmm, since it's true that Aqua's a goddess, it makes sense for her to feel a bit homesick; she's been down here with us for nearly two years," Megumin reasoned.

After sitting in silence and noticing the somber looks of my companions, I abruptly tore into the food in front of me.

"Mmm, this is actually really good, Megumin," I said as I swallowed the food.

Initially, I intended to say it as a means to distract them, however, I found myself saying it earnestly.

Megumin looked at me and smiled. "Really?" She cleared her throat. "I've been learning a bit about cooking recently; should help feed us in the future."

"You mean you actually put points into cooking?"

"Of course not," she retorted. "One can learn a skill naturally through observation and trial and error; life skills are especially disposed to this kind of learning."

"Oh, that so? Should mean Darkness' horrible cooking could technically get better over time, no?"

"Ka-Kazuma!" Darkness shouted in embarrassment.

I sneered.

Indeed, I happened to know that Megumin was studying an assortment of things, not least of them being cooking. It was good to know that there was room in that brain of hers for things other than explosions. The rest of…lunch...or dinner (it was a couple hours past noon) went smoothly and eventually we each went on to do separate things to pass the time; playing, bathing, reading, tinkering etc. Soon, night set in and we headed to bed.

I entered my room and felt the coolness of an air-conditioned space. I sighed in great relief; the feeling of a low-humidity environment brought such comforts, both mental and physical. I climbed into bed and smiled, drawing the sheets up to my neck. As I drifted to sleep, there was a knock on my door. I opened my eyes with mild agitation.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Kazuma, can, can I sleep with you?" It was Megumin.

"Oi, what for?"

"…I wanna see the climate control box."

"It's called an A/C; stop giving my inventions such weird names."

"A/C," She said, quickly correcting herself.

"*sigh*"

I got up and opened the door. Megumin came in, smiling as she felt the ambience of the room.

"Ohhh, this is so much better; Kazuma, Kazuma, it feels like winter in here!" She spun around in happiness.

"Oi, this is just for tonight; so, don't get used to it, alright?"

Megumin's attitude instantly deflated. She appeared as if she wanted to protest, but I narrowed my eyes.

"…alright," She said despondently.

I climbed back into bed, where she quickly followed me.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?"

"Huh, going to sleep, what's—"

"Why not get a futon or something?"

Megumin raised her brow. "What's wrong, how many times have we slept together already?"

"Geez, phrasing, Megumin; look, it's not that I have any real issue with it, just that I wanted to be able to spread out. This type of feeling is best when you have a lot of room to enjoy."

"Oh?"

"Umu."

Megumin scooched closer to me; her face was close to my own. She smiled teasingly.

"Oi."

Suddenly, there was another knock.

"Gah, who is it now; is it you, Darkness?" I said, sitting up.

"Ka-Kazuma, I-I was wondering if—"

"Just come in already."

Darkness opened the door and spotted Megumin; she quickly recoiled in surprise.

"I'm-I'm—did I—"

"You didn't," I interrupted. "I suppose you came for the A/C as well?"

She nodded.

I sighed once more. Looking over my bed, there was just enough room for one more person; though we'd be pretty cramped. Under most circumstances, being in bed together with pretty girls would be ideal, however, I really wanted to enjoy the feeling of coolness around me; being sandwiched between two females would give the opposite results.

"Just for tonight," I said.

Megumin moved over as far as she could, pulling me along with her. Darkness stood staring at the bed for a couple seconds.

"Well, are ya getting in?" I said, already frustrated by the circumstances.

"R-Right," Darkness stuttered. I could hear her gulp.

She timorously climbed into the bed and turned her back to me.

"Oi, what are you doing?"

"Huh, I'm—"

"You're turning away from me."

"Of-Of course, if I face you then my brea…brea…"

"You think I'm gonna let you off easy for messing up my comfort?!"

"Kazuma, what are you trying to get Darkness to—"

I interrupted Megumin's query. "You too! Both of you are gonna suffer tonight!"

"Wha-wha-what are you planning on doing to us, Kazuma?!" Darkness stammered excitedly.

"You're sleeping towards me, and you, Megumin, can sleep between us."

"Wait, how does that—I'll be crushed by Darkness' chest!"

"Me-Megumin!" Darkness yelled in embarrassment.

"Not quite," I replied. "You're small enough to fit just underneath."

"I-I won't stand for this, Kazuma!" Her eyes began to glow red.

"Oi, don't you dare start casting Explosion; I didn't force you guys to come here, alright?! If you guys don't like it, you can leave."

Defeated by my reasoning, Megumin grit her teeth in acceptance. She slowly moved herself in position, tears dotting the corner of her eyes.

"This is…you won't get away with this, Kazuma."

"Oi, stop making it sound like I'm making you do something lewd."

"This **IS** something lewd, you barbarian!"

"Would you quiet down, all you're doing is sleeping closely to another female companion—"

"While you sleep behind me!"

"Relax, I'm not so callow as to lack self-control, Megumin."

"Th-That's not the issue here!"

"Oi, I'm entitled to comfort in **my** bed, in **my** room."

Megumin bit her lip as she settled in.

"Sorry, Megumin," Darkness said with moderate excitement in her voice. She slid into place.

I chuckled. "Good, every night you guys wanna come here, this is how we're sleeping, got it?"

Both of them gave me looks of detest and discomfort, but that was the point.

Despite, my initial thoughts, I fell asleep quite soundly; and from what I could gather—and contrary to initial reactions—so did the other two. In fact, we slept so well, none of us awoke sooner than the afternoon. That day went by and Aqua still didn't return, then the following, and then another.

"It's been four days," Megumin said in a downcast tone. She fiddled with the board pieces as Darkness stared over the game.

"Umu, it has; I'm honestly quite worried Aqua might've decided to stay in Heaven," Darkness replied.

"Hmm, I don't think so," I said as I lounged on the couch.

"How can you be so sure, Kazuma?" Megumin queried.

"Ambrosia-sama promised."

"She made a promise to send Aqua back?" Darkness questioned, moving a piece on the board as she did.

"Something like that; anyways, I don't think she'd go out of her way to tell me something she didn't intend to follow through on."

Out of the nowhere, there was knocking on the front door. As we all stared, the other two turned their attention to me.

"What, why don't one of you answer the door?"

"You're the Lord of the house," Megumin said mockingly, "why don't you open it; chances are it's for you."

I frowned but got up anyways. There was another set of knocks as I approached the door.

"Coming," I said. I opened the door shortly after.

"Kazuma-dono," It was Claire, she was accompanied by Rain.

"Hm, what are **you** guys here for?"

"How rude," Claire said with mild anger. She gave a brief cough. "May we come in?"

"…sure," I said reluctantly.

"Claire, Rain," Darkness said, giving them a short nod.

"Lalatina-sama," Rain replied with a short bow.

Claire did the same.

"So, why are you guys here?" I said, walking back to the couch.

"We came to bring you to the capital," Claire replied as I sat down.

"Bring us…why, what for?"

"Seeing as you've never been married, Kazuma-dono, nor has Megumin-san, you must both attend practice on ceremony."

"Ah, so like a recital."

"Umu, I'm surprised you know of such things."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Claire-chan."

Claire glowered at me but with a deep breath, regained her composure.

"There's also the matter of finding a dress and suit for you both," Rain added.

"Also, Iris-sama has requested your presence to discuss some of the finer details of the wedding, Megumin-san."

Megumin looked at Darkness.

She shook her head. "I'll be fine; there's actually a few things I could go handle early."

"I, I was actually hoping you could, could come," Megumin said quite timidly.

Darkness appeared briefly surprised, but then gently smiled. "I could go, if that's what you really want."

Megumin gave a timorous nod.

"Ah, I just remembered," I said, "I'll buy this mansion instead of having another one be constructed."

"Hm, that so?" Claire replied. "Very well, that's a matter for you to discuss with the landlord and city. I'll let Iris-sama know of your decision. Now, with that out of the way, let us be on our way; we mustn't keep Iris hime-sama waiting."

And so, we teleported, arriving at the royal palace. As we walked, Claire explained a few things.

"Megumin-san, myself and a few others will be responsible for teaching you etiquette and form, particularly for the wedding; I'm hoping you will care to continue pursuing those lessons even after the wedding."

Megumin gave a nervous smile; she wasn't the type of girl to live such a restrained life, so I'm sure that suggestion was immediately rejected in her mind.

"Kazuma-dono," Claire continued, glancing at me, "you will take your lessons from Leimont Froite."

"Lemon who?"

"Leimont Froite; you should consider it an honor, he's the man responsible for teaching etiquette to highest echelons of nobility. He teaches women, but more often teaches men. Iris-sama seemed to object to the decision, however, I refuse to see a man raised to such lofty heights behave like a simpleton. It was my personal request to see him teach you."

"Oi, Claire-chan, you think Iris is gonna—"

"Iris-**sama**, will have no qualms about it once the lessons are done. Like Megumin-san, I hope you'll pursue the lessons after your marriage; however, doing so will come from your own pocket. For the wedding, the crown, and as such the citizens of this country are paying for your lessons; the both of you," she said sternly. "That being said, I hope you both take this recital and its lessons seriously."

"If payment is an issue then I can just—"

"Iris-sama has requested it to be as such; there's no need for you to contribute. The real issue is whether or not you'll listen."

"*Sigh* I'll do what I can."

"Thank you, hearing you say that gives me **some** comfort."

Before I knew, we were standing before the familiar door of Iris' bedroom.

Claire gently knocked. "Iris-sama, I've brought Megumin-san and…Kazuma-dono."

The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard from inside; however, when Iris opened the door, she appeared calm.

"Megumin-san, Lalatina, Onii-sama," she said with increasing excitement, "it's so good to see you all once again!"

"Yo, Iris-chan," I replied with a wave.

"Onii-sama, can you tell me some more stor—"

"Iris-sama," Claire interjected.

"Oh, right, forgive me," she said, regaining her poise. "Please, come in."

Rain bowed and remained standing just outside the door, the rest of us entered the room. It was a long time since I was here, but I still held fond memories of it. We headed outside to the large veranda. Claire quickly brought a throne-like seat for Iris and stood beside her.

"Please, sit," Iris said, extending her arm to the chairs and table before her.

We did so.

"So, I'm sure Claire-chan has told you the details, correct?"

We nodded.

"Good, Megumin-san, there's some things I wish to discuss concerning options for the wedding; I hope you don't mind."

Megumin removed her hat and gave brief bow of her head. "Not at all, Iris-sama."

Seeing Megumin act with decorum was honestly something unusual, but for some reason aroused an equally unusual feeling in me; it was a feeling half-way between excitement and perplexity. Almost like experiencing something odd and unfamiliar for the first time.

"Kazuma onii-sama, you're free to do as you wish; should you like, you could go with Rain to pick out your attire."

Claire cleared her throat loudly. "Actually, Hime-sama, I've recruited Lemont Froite to teach Kazuma-dono—"

"I thought I told you I didn't want Kazuma onii-sama to—"

"I know, Iris-sama, forgive my insolence, however—"

"I refuse, Claire-chan; I don't want that man anywhere near—"

"Iris-sama, please."

"I said, no!"

"Iris-sama…Kazuma-dono is a noble now and will be seen as such; if he goes on without even knowing the basics of etiquette, it will be seen as an affront. Please, I know you hold him in high regard, but you're…being incredibly willful right now."

Iris' angry expression quickly dissipated. She closed her eyes for a couple seconds and when she opened them, her regal form returned.

"Very well, Claire." Iris turned her attention to me. "Kazuma onii-sama, will you take the lessons?"

"Umu," I replied, nodding.

"Should it become a bother…you needn't to force yourself."

"Iris-sama…"

She stared at Claire, half angry, half searching for pity.

Claire relented. "…*sigh* very well, Iris-sama." Claire looked at me sternly. "The lessons are optional; however, I **do** hope you choose to take them, Kazuma-dono; it's very important you do…please."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, since Claire-chan is begging me to do it, how can I refuse."

"You-You dog!" She blurted out before quickly calming herself. "No one is begging you to do anything; it's merely a request."

"Oh, in that case, I think I'll just—"

"P-Please!" Claire said, full of embarrassment.

I grinned in response.

Claire glared angrily. "Iris-sama, I'll take Kazuma-dono to his lessons; I'll return shortly."

Iris nodded. "Lalatina-chan, are you staying?"

Darkness looked to Megumin, who gave an almost indiscernible nod.

"Umu, I'll be staying with Megumin, Hime-sama."

"Come, Kazuma-dono; you have a date to attend," Claire said, her tone full of spite.

As we exited the room, Rain quickly took up beside us.

"The plan?" She quickly asked.

"This man will take his lessons," Claire replied curtly.

"Optional," I emphasized.

Claire shot me a cursory glance but continued walking at a quick pace.

"I take it Iris hime-sama wasn't too pleased with the idea," Rain queried.

"…no, she was not." Claire looked somewhat disappointed.

I spoke. "You know I'm not gonna act like some noble even if you guys teach me to, right; I mean you **have** to sort of expect as much."

"Of course, fools will be fools and commoners, commoners; there's only so much we can teach you, but if you insist on behaving like a wild beast, there is little that can be done."

"I mean, Claire-san, doesn't it get tiring?"

"What does?" She said, showing slightly more interest in the conversation.

"The whole restrained lifestyle; I know who you really are, how you act—"

Claire stopped abruptly and whipped around; her eyes narrowed dangerously on me as her hand wrapped tightly against the hilt of her blade. "You know nothing about me," She said in a low and grave tone.

"Easy," I said, stepping back slightly, "Iris-chan wouldn't be too happy about you chopping me to bits."

"Worry not, unlike you, I have restraint; that's the difference between nobles and…the likes of you." She let go of her blade and turned back around; after a deep breath, she continued walking. We followed.

Although I shouldn't have pressed her, I couldn't resist. "I don't know what you're talking about, Claire-chan; I'm definitely a noble."

There was a slight misstep in her footing, however, she continued along.

"Kazuma-dono," Rain said, placing her hand on my arm, "please refrain from harassing Claire-sama."

"Since Rain-san, the sensible one in the group asked so kindly, I shall refrain from harassing Claire-chan, I'm sorry, Claire-san."

I could see Claire's shoulders trembling. Ah, such a sight really brought me happiness—oi, wait, was I becoming a sadist?

After some time, we arrived at a large banquet hall; although we walked a long distance, this was still within the palace grounds. When we walked in, a receptionist lady came to see us.

"Lady Symphonia, what can I do for you?"

"I have a"—Claire glanced at me; she was still furious—"student for Foite-dono."

The receptionist stared at me for a second and then smiled widely.

"Satou-sama, Slayer of the Demon King, Satou-sama?!"

Even I was surprised by her sudden outburst.

"Yes!" Claire said, stepping between me and the receptionist. She sighed deeply. "May we have audience with Foite-dono?"

The receptionist quickly calmed herself and bowed deeply. She disappeared behind a set of heavy curtains for several minutes before returning.

"Lady Symphonia, Master Satou, please forgive the delay; Master Foite will see you."

Moving behind the curtains, we passed through a set of large, heavy, but pristinely crafted wooden doors and into an enormous banquet hall.

"Pay attention," Claire said in a whisper, "Foite-dono is a man with little patience."

"Yeah, yeah."

My nonchalant response made a vein spring from her head, however, Claire continued walking. In the center of the hall was a man who seemed to be practicing how to address another noble. Another man, older, perhaps in his late fifties, sat watching closely; he shook his head in disapproval and stood up, shouting angrily at the man in the center.

"You call that a greeting?! I've seen a pack of silver wolves greet their meals with more finesse! More effort, more feeling; I want you to greet as if you were meeting Eris-sama herself!"

The younger nobleman nodded fervently. "Ye-Yes, Foite-sama, forgive me."

"I'll forgive you once you show me results; now do it again, again!"

As the nobleman walked off to try once more, Foite approached us. The man was quite short; standing barely as tall as myself and had a thin frame. His pale blonde hair, curly, had many streaks of gray and a set of icy blue eyes sat peering through the curls. Contrary to his anger-fueled expression just moments earlier, he smiled as he laid eyes on Claire.

"Claire-chan, so good to see you," he said, grabbing her hand and kissing it gently. His voice sounded as if it belonged to an old hag, and the demeanor he carried himself with was similar as well.

"Likewise, Foite-dono," Claire replied, bowing deeply.

"Ever the masculine type…but it suits you."

Claire gave a forced smile.

"Rain-san, how do you do?" Foite said, giving her a passing glance.

Rain bowed deeply, holding it for several seconds. "I'm well, thank you for your concern, Foite-sama."

"And who's this?" he said as he stared, his eyes narrowing as he inspected me from head to toe.

**Part 4**

Iris asked, "So, what colors do you want for the—"

"Black and red," I replied succinctly.

"Eh, I don't think black and red would be good colors for a wedding, Megumin," Darkness said.

"Why ask me then; if it's not black and red, then there's no point."

"Hmm, I think it can work," Iris replied. She quickly wrote down my choice.

"Iris-sama," Darkness said, "are you really the one planning all this?"

I looked at Iris; I was interested in knowing as well.

"Of course not, Lalatina; I'm still in the process of learning about all this myself. That's not to say I haven't seen my share of weddings but seeing one and being directly involved in one are two different things; it's a great learning experience." She smiled as she explained.

_"This girl, to be so diligent in her pursuit of knowledge. _So, I assume someone else is handling all the logistics with this?" I asked.

Iris nodded. "I'm merely a liaison between you and them; I figured it would be easier to get things done if I was the one asking."

"Ehhh, isn't that a bit of abuse of power?" Darkness remarked hesitantly.

"Hmm, maybe a little," Iris replied as she pondered on it; she then smiled widely.

_"Oh no, I think Kazuma's influence has really started to infect her."_

"Hi-Hime-sama," Darkness said, clearing her throat, "I believe you shouldn't continue to do such things; if word got out that you were pulling strings for friends…well…"

"It's fine, Lalatina-chan; I don't just do this for everyone—"

"I think that's the issue," Darkness said in a nervous whisper.

"—only really close friends."

I coughed loudly.

"Ah, right, sorry, Megumin-nee. The next question I wanted to ask you is quite a big one; who do you want invited? We'll be using the largest banquet hall available so—"

"I don't really care; if it was just me and Kazuma, I'd be fine with it."

Iris and Darkness stared at me.

"Ah, well, I mean, you guys would be invited, of course…"

Darkness cleared her throat. "How about I handle the guests for you, Megumin? I'll be sure run the final list with you."

"Ah, sure, I guess that's fine."

"For starters, we should probably invite people you know; people from your village might be a good start. Do you have anyone that comes to mind?"

"Hmm, my parents probably…"

"Of course, your immediate family." Darkness quickly jotted it down.

Over the next few minutes, I went through a number of people in the Crimson Village; to Darkness' and Iris' surprise, however, the amount was fairly small.

"Ok," Darkness said, looking over the list. "Megumin, I know you probably won't like this, but…it's probably a good idea to associate yourself with **some** noble houses."

I gave her a look of disagreement.

Iris spoke. "Lalatina-chan is right, Megumin-nee; even though some nobles could act rather mean, knowing **some** of them will really help in the long run."

"Shouldn't that be Kazuma's job?" I protested.

"There are some things a woman can do that a man can't," Darkness said, she looked slightly away as she did.

"…you aren't suggesting what I think you are, right, Darkness?"

"Of course not, Megumin; I would never allow such acts to take place. I'm merely saying the charm of a woman is often more effective than even the most agreeable man."

"Hmm, in that case, sure. I have charm; I think I can handle that. But…I already know you and Iris; shouldn't that be more than enough?"

They looked at each other; it was difficult to contradict what I said.

"…still, knowing just us two could…present…issues," Darkness replied slowly.

Of course, having favors done by the crown and a single family could indeed be seen as some sort of favoritism; it would create problems for the both of them.

"Ok, Darkness, I leave that to you."

Darkness nodded.

Several more minutes went by and several more questions were asked; the entire time, I studied Iris, she'd occasionally touch the base of her ring finger longingly.

"Iris," I said, interrupting the silence after another question.

She looked up at me. "Yes, Megumin-nee?"

"There's something I wanna ask you."

"Go ahead." She sat up.

"…why go along with this marriage…why set it up in the first place?"

Darkness stared at me in surprise; she was alarmed from the abruptness of asking, not really the fact that I did. Iris, however, stared at me with shock; it quickly devolved to mild surprise and then, finally, a gentle smile.

"M—"

"Iris-sama, I've returned," Claire said, as she walked out into the veranda.

Iris shifted her attention. "And onii-sama?"

"At his lessons; I've left Rain with him."

Iris looked away in disappointment. "Very well."

"Megumin-san," Claire said, turning to me, "we should begin with your lessons as well."

"Umm, I was wondering," I interrupted, "can Darkness teach me?"

Claire stared at me stoically and then at Darkness. "While Lalatina carries herself with great esteem, I fear her time as an adventurer may have somewhat…eroded her propriety." Darkness frowned at Claire. "…however, I've no qualms about her teaching you if I, or someone of well-repute, is observing."

"I'm fine with that."

"Very well, Lalatina will teach you, if she's up to it; I'll observe and give finer details."

Iris interjected. "After your lessons, we should have lunch."

"Perhaps it would be wiser for her to get fitted before that, Iris-sama."

"Oh, you're right, Claire," Iris said, nodding in agreement. She turned her attention back to me. "After getting sized for your dress then, Megumin-san?"

"Ah, sure."

A few hours passed as Darkness began teaching; since I had some basic training before we met Iris, learning some finer points came rather quickly. Surprisingly enough, Darkness was actually quite good at teaching. Throughout the lessons Claire interjected and sometimes even countered some of the things Darkness said and showed. Eventually, after much toiling, we were done for the day.

"Gah, this is tiring…and painful," I said as I sat with Darkness; we waited for Claire in the palace courtyard.

Darkness gave light chuckle. "Now you know why I ran away from it."

"…thanks."

"Hm?"

"For helping…for everything; despite our contradictions, you continue to be a great friend, Darkness…thank you."

She looked up, letting the sun bathe her face in its light. "I already told you, no matter what, I'll be there for you."

"I know…but seeing this must hurt; it would if I was in your position."

"…umu, it does, but I'm happy for you; just because we happen to have the same goal doesn't mean you don't deserve happiness, Megumin; doesn't mean I **can't** be happy for you."

I stared solemnly at the ground.

"Would you rather give it all up then, let me take Kazuma?" She said with a weak smile.

I stared at her silently.

She looked out towards the city; her arms crossed. "You don't have to pity me, Megumin. Just be happy; I can find comfort in knowing that we can all be together for a while longer."

"Forgive me," Claire said, as she walked up to us. "There were a few things I had to do."

"Claire, are you the one planning the wedding?" Darkness queried.

"Huh—no, well…not entirely; I'm taking more of an advisory role. Lalatina, you should be more versed in the structure of a wedding, given that you had one."

"A failed one."

Claire coughed. "Nevertheless." She turned to me. "Megumin-san, shall we be on our way?"

I nodded.

As we walked (towards what I presumed to be a tailor's shop) Claire spoke.

"Honestly, Megumin-san, you're quite lucky; Iris-sama seems to be pulling no stops when it comes to your wedding. The treatment you and that man are receiving is akin to a royalty itself."

Darkness and I gave a nervous smile.

"Our next destination is the royal tailor's; I've only been to her shop a handful of times so please be careful with what you say and do. Though her temperament isn't anything out of the ordinary, I hear she has great pride when it comes to the artistry of clothing."

I looked at my robes; though I saw nothing wrong with them, they way Claire was describing the Royal Tailor, it could, perhaps be a problem.

"Umm, will she say something about my clothing then?"

Claire glanced back at me. "Worry not, I'll explain the situation."

Soon enough we arrived. The shop sat just outside the palace and near the square. Surrounding it were various materials and fabrics, some being dyed on the spot, others being weaved to perfection, and still others being produced. Knights stood at each corner of the shop, with more patrolling closely.

"Kind of…secure," I said uneasily.

"Of course, this is the shop of the greatest tailor in the entire kingdom; she's an asset with no equal, a national treasure."

As we came to the entrance, the guards stepped away from the door and opened it; we walked in.

In the center of the shop stood a tall, slender (and seemingly young) woman. She wore a dark purple kimono with black trimming and golden embroidery. Her hair was jet black, with a silky appearance; it was tied in a bun with two long bangs sweeping down along her face. Her skin, of fair complexion, was of a ghostly pale. She turned to us; her dark sapphire eyes staring lazily. She held a long, intricately made pipe between her fingers as she gently puffed out some smoke.

"Oh, customers," she said with the same lazy look she had. In the same manner, she walked over to us. "Who might you be?"

Claire gave a brief bow, Darkness, seeing Claire, did so as well. Claire stared at me for a second before I realized.

"Oh, sorry." I bowed as well.

"Pardon our intrusion, Lady Ephemera; I'm Claire, of House Symphonia. This is Lalatina, of House Dustiness, and **this** is Megumin, of the newly-established, House Satou."

"…nobles," she said, almost as if she was disappointed. "and yet, you appear as mere paupers." She took a hit of her pipe. "I assume that's why you're here."

Claire cleared her throat. "Not entirely; we're here for her," Claire extended her arm towards me.

Lady Ephemera bit the end of her pipe as she stared at me; she held an expression of mild worry, almost as if she was wondering what she could do for me. Seeing her look at me as such made me agitated.

"Doesn't smoking around the clothing make it smell?" I asked in spite.

Claire shot me a damning look; however, Lady Ephemera smirked.

"Indeed, it would," she replied. "However, its odorless; a blend of Tokoroten powder and Neroid extract. Gives a slight high, similar to alcohol but offers no health risks."

_"Tokoroten powder…has Cecily onee-san's influence really spread this far?"_

She quickly blew the smoke in my face, causing me to cough. As the smoke coiled around, I noticed the distinct lack of smell; however, in the mere instance that I took a breath, it caused me to feel light-headed.

"Oi," Darkness said sternly; she frowned angrily.

"Calm yourself," the tailoress said with a smile, "she'll be fine." She turned her attention to Claire. "So, what is it you need me to do for this one?"

"She needs sizing for a wedding dress."

"You know I only work on royal orders; do you have a pass?" She asked, blowing another puff of smoke.

"Of course." Claire withdrew a piece of parchment and handed it over.

Lady Ephemera quickly looked over it, and then tossed it into nearby pile of embers; seconds later, the paper burned a brilliant blue hue before turning into a charred husk, joining the rest of the embers around it.

"Very well, come girl; let's get you fitted."

As she led us through the shop, me and Darkness stared in awe; it was enormous, far larger than we initially thought. It had an upstairs and even extended some floors beneath. Piles and rolls of fabrics lay in heaps while workers tended to them in eager fashion. As we walked even deeper, we came to the workshop proper; sewing machines, lathes, spinning wheels, an assortment that, together with tools, lined every corner of the space. Several workers were tending to and using the machines.

Noticing our sense of awe, Lady Ephemera spoke as we continued through the shop. "This shop also makes clothing for nobility; however, **I** only deal with orders from the royal family. Though the pay is good, there's no way I could subsist on the infrequency of such projects. As such, the best tailors and artisans are hired to do the other work; however, **all** are inspected by me before they leave this shop."

"Amazing," Darkness said as she continued looking around.

We came to a large ornamental door, to which Lady Ephemera pushed open. Inside, was a smaller workshop with many shelves; all were filled with some manner of fabric. Unlike the workshop in the larger area, this smaller one appeared to be more private; housing just a single sewing machine, a large desk, some racks, and a roll of tools.

"Stand," she said as she pulled open the roll of tools. She withdrew a measuring tape. "You two, outside."

Claire left without a second thought, however, Darkness, hesitantly looked at me and then her.

She smiled teasingly. "Don't worry, Lady Dustiness, she's a valued customer; I won't harm her."

Darkness stared at her for a second, and then exited the room.

"Such a good friend," she said as she took my measurements, "almost makes me think you two were the ones getting married."

_"Oi, this sly bitch…"_ I smiled wryly in response.

"Hmm, what a slender body; feels like I'm making a dress for a child."

It was getting hard not to blow this lady up.

"You're quite cute though," She said, stepping back to admire me.

I felt uncomfortable and she could tell. She smiled widely; I assume she was taking pleasure in my discomfort.

"Black hair and red eyes…you're a Crimson Demon?"

I nodded.

"Megumin…if the looks didn't give it away, the odd name certainly would."

I clenched my jaw.

"Well then, sizing's complete. Sit," she said, pulling out a small bench from the nearby desk.

I reluctantly did so.

Taking a seat, herself, Lady Ephemera took out a piece of paper. She turned to me. "Do you have an idea on how you want you dress to look like?"

"No."

She raised a brow; I half expected her to laugh. "That's not surprising, but you want the dress to be black and red."

"Eh, yeah, how'd you know?"

She smiled. "You're a Crimson Demon; if it's not black and red, then there's no point, right?"

I smiled in awe; this lady won some support from me.

"No, the pass also detailed some things about your order," She remarked flatly.

All the support was lost.

She closed her eyes for a moment and then stared at me. After a few seconds, she turned back to the paper in front of her.

"Four days till the wedding, correct?"

"…umu."

She smiled as she stared at me once more. "It will be beautiful. Tell me something, Megumin-san, have you ever been with a man?"

I was absolutely shocked she would ask me such a question out of nowhere. "W-Why do you—"

"Of course you haven't…you're like a rose that's about to bloom; that will be your motif, do you like roses, dear?"

I gulped. "Sure, they're pretty."

She turned to me once more, a sly smile creeping upon her face. "They sure are…your clothes..."

"Wha-Wha-what do you intend to do?" I said, leaning back in my seat.

"I intend see that beauty for myself; strip."

I stared wide-eyed. "Excuse me?"

"Take it off, that's what it means to strip."

I stood up and stared at her in horror, as I was about to call out to Darkness, she placed a finger to my lips.

"Relax, whatever you think this is leading to, it's not; I assure you."

I looked at her dubiously and swallowed nervously. "You do anything weird and I'll scream."

"What an odd girl you are; do you really think I'd fancy a child?"

I clenched my jaw once more.

"Now please, remove your clothing; you may keep your underwear on…unless you want—"

"I'm fine!"

I took a deep breath and slowly removed my clothes; for some reason, stripping in front of this lady was more uncomfortable than I'd imagine; worse than if the same command came from Kazuma, himself. After my robes slid off, I instinctively covered myself.

"Defeats the purpose if you do that," She remarked.

"What's the purpose of this anyways, are you ju-just some, some closet pervert?"

She looked away and covered her mouth; she was trying hard not to laugh. After several moments of stifling laughter, she turned back to me. "What a lively girl you are. The whole reason I ask my clients to strip is so I can envision the design on their body."

"Couldn't you just get a portrait of them?"

She sat back. "Do you know how long it takes the average tailor to come up with a design?"

I stared at her with a frown. "No, but I have a feeling you're gonna tell me."

"At least a couple of days just for a simple design, more depending on the complexity. Do you know how long it takes **me**?"

"…"

"It's already done."

I looked at her perplexedly. "What are you talking about, I didn't see you—"

She quickly penned a design as if she already knew what she wanted to conceive; in seconds, she was finished. Lady Ephemera handed me the draft and leaned in close to my ear.

"There's a reason why I'm the Royal Tailor and a reason why I'm hoarded by the kingdom."

I looked over the design; it was a large, flowing red dress in the appearance of a bouquet of roses. Black trims skirted the underlayer of the dress, making the shape and color of the flowers stand out. The center had a small red rose with an underlying thin black band stretching across from shoulder to shoulder; in this regard, it was similar in fashion to my own robes. The straps that held it up connected to a small black choker (also sporting the thematic rose design). Off to the side of the design, was another; a hair ornament bearing the rose motif.

It was amazing; even though I grew to detest this lady, there was no denying her talent. As I stood staring in awe, she lightly lifted the underside of jaw, close.

"You can put your clothes back on." She sat back down and began smoking once more.

I quickly redressed.

"So—"

"I'll have it done in two days; I doubt there'll be any mistakes, but in the unlikely occurrence it should happen, don't hesitate to let me know."

As I went for the door, she gave one last remark.

"Have fun at your wedding, Megumin-san."

"How'd it go?" Darkness asked as I came out.

"She's an odd lady," I replied, looking away.

"Hm, people do say Lady Ephemera is quite eccentric," Claire added.

"Wish you would've said that before we came."

"Why, was there something wrong?"

"…nothing; can we go?"

Claire and Darkness exchanged mildly concerned looks.

"Very well, let us be off."

When we returned to the palace, we headed to Iris' room once more.

"Iris-sama," Claire said, knocking on the door, "I've returned with Megumin-san."

"…come in."

Claire opened the door and we entered.

"Megumin-san, how was she, Lady Ephemera?" Iris asked.

"Did you know she was like that?" I asked, a bit of anger bleeding into my tone.

Iris looked at me in surprise. "Like what?"

"…nothing, nevermind…she's a genius."

"Umu, she makes very beautiful clothing."

"How, how was your first time meeting her; how'd it go, if you don't mind me asking?"

Iris looked to Claire, who looked back in bewilderment. "Did something happen?"

"N-No, it's just—I'm curious is all, she works quick."

As much as I disliked that woman, I didn't want to start any issues; Iris was going this far for my sake.

Iris stared at me with doubt, her face was solemn; granting her the stoic impression of royalty. "Megumin-san, if something happened, please don't hesitate to tell me; even the Royal Tailor won't get away—"

"It's fine!" I shouted. "I'm fine, everything's fine!"

While Darkness and Claire were astonished at my outburst; Iris remained calm.

"…very well, if you say so, Megumin-san."

"…"

"Shall we have lunch then?"

"Uhh, sure."

We were out on the terrace once more; servants came with several trays of hors d'oeuvres and accompanying snacks. Despite my recent discomfort, I was elated when the food was revealed; food had always been something I fancied, but lately I was beginning to appreciate the artistry and preparation involved in it.

"I'm glad you like it," Iris said as I gobbled the food down eagerly.

Claire cleared her throat. "Megumin-san…"

I looked up and smiled nervously. "Uh, sorry."

Darkness gave a short giggle, followed by Iris.

"Iris-sama," I said, a short time later, "is there a reason why you're always messing with your finger?"

She was currently doing it and stopped as I mentioned.

"Megumin-san," Claire began, "that's—"

Iris raised her hand in objection. "I lost my ring—"

"You mean someone stole it," Claire interjected unwittingly, her voice full of anger.

Iris smiled. "Yes, someone took it; it's a special ring, has a lot of significance to the royal family."

I stared at Iris. "Was it the Masked Thief?"

Claire clenched her fist tightly, the fabric of her gloves straining from the tightness. Iris nodded.

"I see…_Kazuma has the ring then._"

There was silence among us for several minutes until I spoke once more. "Would you mind telling me the significance behind the ring, Iris-sama?"

She looked up at me and smiled. "The ring is supposed to be given to someone who's sworn to the princess."

"…I see."

Her explanation just made me question her reasoning behind the marriage even more. If Iris wanted to marry Kazuma, why have **me** of all people, marry him? What reason could she have for prompting something like this; it isn't even like we were planning on getting married, she was the sole instigator of it all. I stared at her intently.

"Megumin-san," she said, breaking my line of thought, "would you tell me about the design of your dress; what did the Royal Tailor come up with?"

"Roses; the dress she thought up was amazing."

"…roses, I can imagine it'll look wonderful on you."

"Oh, is that what she came up with?" Darkness said, taking a sip of wine.

"Umu."

Claire rubbed her chin. "Hmm, I could see it working; I've no doubt whatever Lady Ephemera has thought up is phenomenal."

"I suppose she was the one who designed your dress, Iris-sama?" I said.

Iris looked away slightly. "Not exactly."

I raised my brow. "Really, then who, or rather, what happened; I thought all clothing for royalty was designed by her?"

"It is, but Lady Ephemera said…she said…that 'I was still too young'."

_"…I guess she really doesn't fancy children."_

Darkness' brow raised in mild confusion. "She denied you service over something like that; I'm surprised she was allowed to get away with it."

"Well…" Iris looked down sadly. "Father was extremely angry; I've never really seen him like that before. If I hadn't stopped him, he…" Iris stopped, she swallowed deeply.

"That's enough," Claire said, "you're causing Iris-sama grief."

Iris quickly looked up and forcefully smiled. "I-I wonder how onii-sama and Rain-chan are doing?"

**Part 5**

"Oi, Rain-san, please don't make me go back to that guy again," I said dejectedly.

It's been several hours since I began training with the master tutor, Lemont Froite; after endless repetitive cycles, I was finally let go with barely passing marks. The unfortunate thing was I was expected back tomorrow and the following day; I honestly didn't want to continue. Sensing my distress, Rain decided it was time for us to go see the Royal Tailor, Lady Ephemera.

"Kazuma-dono, please be extra careful with Lady Ephemera; while her personality isn't as flamboyant as Froite-sama's, it'd be a mistake to assume she's anything but eccentric."

"Hmm, odd people I can handle; my entire party is filled with them and nearly everyone I meet has some weird quirk to them."

Rain stared at me blankly and then sighed.

"Come on, Rain, you're odd in your own way; you're obviously an outcast in this whole place."

She began to whimper in agreement.

Finally, we arrived.

"Wow, lots of security around here_; almost seems like they're trying to keep something in."_

"This **is** the royal tailor's shop," Rain said as we approached the door.

The guards quickly blockaded the door. Rain jumped back in surprise.

"Excuse me," she said, "I'm Rain, attendant of Iris—"

"Sorry, Rain-sama, but we have orders to prevent any other people from seeing the tailoress today."

"Whose?"

"The tailoress herself."

"That's preposterous; I have a priority order that needs—"

"Sorry, orders are orders, ma'am."

Rain grit her teeth. "Come, Kazuma-dono; it seems we'll need to postpone today's trip."

As we got ready to leave, the door to the shop slid open.

"Lady Ephemera," one of the guards said in surprise.

"Other customers?" She queried.

"Uh—"

"Yes," Rain replied, turning back around. She pulled out a piece of written paper.

The tailoress stared at the parchment unamusingly and then sighed. "Come," She said, retreating back into the shop.

As we came in, she sat herself in one of the nearby floor cushions.

"So," she said, prepping her pipe, "who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

"I'm Rain, subordinate—"

"I know who **you** are; I'm talking about him."

"Me?" I said, pointing at myself.

"Who else?"

"Oi."

She briefly looked surprised at my response, but then smiled slyly. "This is gonna be interesting. So, your name?"

"Courtesy demands one gives their name first."

She smiled widely; the fangs of her teeth being exposed. "Indeed, courtesy does…Souin Ephemera, Royal Tailor."

"Satou Kazuma."

She smiled once more. "I see…the groom."

"The groom?"

"Yes, your bride was just here; she was interesting as well."

"Lady Ephe—"

"Cease your speaking, doll!" she snapped viciously, her ferocity causing us to freeze in shock. She trained her eyes back on me, her smile slowly rising to its former place. "Your house was just established, was it not?"

"Erm, yeah," I replied tentatively.

"On what pretense?"

"Lots."

"Humor me."

"*sigh*defeating the Demon King's generals and the Demon King himself."

She sat up, her smile was completely gone, replaced by an almost worried expression. "He's gone, the Demon King's gone?"

"Yeah, where were you; there were celebrations a couple days ago, the entire city was packed; there's no way could've missed it."

She cleared her throat and sat back, taking a toke from her pipe. "I, I was busy. Anyways, so you're some hero."

"Yeah, I guess."

"And I see quite the lolicon as well; how old is she, your bride?"

I stared at her in mild embarrassment. "What does that have—"

"You can come back tomorrow when I feel—"

Rain spoke up. "Lady Ephemera, please, wait." She turned to me with an urging look.

"Tch, fifteen," I replied.

"A ripe fifteen years…normally marriages take place around seventeen or eighteen years of age in the country, but it isn't unheard of for more…depraved individuals to marry younger—it's legal after all—of course, Satou-dono, I don't mean you."

"Your point?" I said, growing angrier by the moment.

"…nothing, just informing you is all; a lesson for the new nobleman of the country. A warning to stay away from such individuals…"

"So then, are we doing this?"

"But of course, follow me."

We walked through the shop until we came to private room with a highly decorated door. As I followed the Royal Tailor in, she stepped in front of Rain.

"Stay outside, will you?"

Rain bowed her head and stepped back. Ephemera shut the door.

She quickly pulled out a bench from under the nearby desk.

"Sit," She said, doing so herself.

I did so as well.

She continued. "Do you have a particular design you want for your outfit?"

"Not exactly."

She gave a short chuckle. "Perhaps the two of you **are** ideal for each other."

I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're both clueless," She replied without hesitation.

_"This fucking bitch…"_ My brow twitched.

"Satou-san…do you plan on consummating the marriage?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"A question."

This woman was trying to rile me up; for what reason, I didn't know, however, I wasn't gonna allow anyone to incite me willingly.

"What does it matter to you?" I replied.

"So, not only are you a lolicon, but you're a coward also."

I wouldn't allow anyone to incite me willingly, but right now, this woman was inciting me willingly.

"What'd you say?!" I said, shooting from the seat.

"I said, you're a coward…I bet you didn't even really kill the Demon King, did you?"

I stared at her, and then sat down. "Did you and the Demon King have something going on?"

She raised her brow. "Of course not."

"From where I'm sitting, it doesn't appear to be that way; you sound pretty upset about my defeating him, why's that, you some sorta Demon King sympathizer—"

"Watch your mouth, boy," She snarled.

I smiled. "So maybe you are; I wonder how the crown would feel if—"

She laughed. "You think you can threaten me; let me tell you something, flegdling-sama, there's a lot about this world you don't know."

In that instance, I remembered Arateia saying the same words; I shirked back a bit. "If, if you don't want to be poked at, why do it to me?"

Ephemera stared hostility at me, but then relaxed; she took a deep breath of her pipe and slowly exhaled. "…you can learn a lot from agitating people, can't you, Satou-san?"

She was surprisingly right. "So, this your way of getting to know someone?"

"It's my way to pass the time; it's my hobby aside my hobby."

"You must be quite lonely to play the troll this hard."

"Troll—what are you…forget it; this conversation has lost its point."

"I wasn't even sure it had any to begin with."

"I'm a busy woman, so let's get this over with; take your clothes off."

"What?"

"Take off—"

I got up and removed my clothes down to my underwear.

"You know, you don't actually look half-bad," I said, nodding as I examined her.

She scoffed. "So, you're a lolicon, a coward, and a cheat; should I add womanizer to that list as well?"

"It'd probably be the only thing on that list I'd agree on."

"Tch, you can put your clothes back on."

"Huh, what was the point of me taking it off if we aren't gonna do anything?"

"Do you really think I have intentions of doing **anything** with you?"

"Well, I mean, I was expecting…something."

She stared at me in disbelief. "…you're getting married."

"Oh, I already told Megumin that I'd be with other women; she wasn't too happy about it, but I think she just kind of accepts it."

The tailoress' jaw dropped. "You're…you're an absolutely terrible man…no, you're…you're scum."

"Oi."

"I'll-I'll…make something for you, just please…get out of my shop." She seemed genuinely disgusted by me.

I casually put on my clothes and stepped outside.

"You," Ephemera said to Rain, "Don't forget to burn the pass on your way out." She quickly locked the door behind me.

"Ehhh, I'm afraid to ask what happened."

"Then don't."

As we walked to the palace, Rain kept glancing at me.

"Oi," I said, growing irritated, "what is it?"

"Eh—nothing, just…nevermind; I **really** don't want to know."

"Ah, all she asked me to do is strip."

Rain straightened stiffly and then stared at me. "Wha-What?!"

"Umu; I went into the room, she asked me a couple questions, gave her some answers, and then she told me to strip."

She stared at me in astonishment. "Sa-Satou-dono, p-please tell me you didn't…"

"Umu, I stripped."

Rain stared despondently at the ground. "You're a terrible man, Satou-dono."

"Eh, just don't tell Megumin; knowing her, she'll blow it out of proportion, literally."

"I honestly believe she'd be in the right if she did," Rain replied, frowning at me.

I gave her a cheeky grin.

When we arrived in front of Iris' room, Rain knocked. "Iris-sama, it's me, Rain; I've returned with Kazuma-dono."

A few seconds later, Claire opened the door to let us in; as per her previous behavior, Rain stayed outside the room.

As Claire closed the door, I asked, "Why doesn't Rain come in; I know I've seen her enter on occasion."

"Rain knows her place. Despite her lower status, she's a fine noble; a stalwart example of what you should aspire to be like. She only enters when it's time for Iris-sama's lessons or when directly asked to. Honestly, you don't know how privileged the lot of you were, and still are."

That's right, I sort of forgot Rain was a low-ranking noble; status was something extremely important, but I suppose it is anywhere. Even back in Japan, being a high-ranking official or businessman was comparable to being a lord in more ancient times.

"Onii-sama!" Iris yelled happily; she ran and hugged me, rubbing her head in my chest.

"Hey." I smiled in return.

"Kazuma," Megumin said, coming in from the balcony, "how'd everything go?"

To my dismay, after noticing Megumin come in, Iris relented.

"Ah, the lessons…*sigh* I don't know if I wanna take anymore. And the tailors…it was nice." I said, smiling somewhat deviously.

"Oh, you had a good time at the Royal Tailor's?" Megumin folded her arms and stared at me with a doubtful expression.

"Eh, well, it was a bit rough at first, but once I told her who I was she quickly softened up to me," I recounted with a smirk.

"Really?"

"Umu."

"Did she…ask you to do something…particular?"

I stared at Megumin. "Like what?"

"…nevermind, if you don't know, then she must've not."

"Wait, did she ask you—"

"She just asked me general questions…that's all."

"Megumin's been quite defensive about the whole visit to the tailor's," Darkness said as she too, joined us.

I raised my brow and looked to Megumin. "That true?"

She avoided my gaze.

_"Hmm, now I know she's hiding something. _Hey, listen, Megumin, if that lady asked you to do something peculiar, you could tell me."

"Why-Why is everyone pressuring me into telling them something that didn't happen!"

For a split second I could see a hue of blue shine through her eyes.

"Are, are you lying?"

"Huh, what—why would I be lying?"

"I don't know, the fact that you're being dismissive about the whole thing and the fact I **know **you're lying."

"S-Stop saying such ridiculous—"

I quickly grabbed Megumin and pulled her close, I stared deeply into her eyes; she stared back wide-eyed.

"Then say it again," I said, my eyes still locked on hers.

Everyone else stared in equal measures of astonishment.

"K-Kazuma," She stammered shyly.

Megumin tried to avert her eyes, but I grabbed her chin.

"Say it again, if you're not lying."

I knew the situation we were in; how it looked. The embarrassment on Megumin's face made me want to smile, but I kept a serious expression. While teasing her was something I was interested in, confirming whether her eyes actually gave off a blue hue when she lied, was also in my interest.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Nothing happened."

_"You dirty cheat._ Umu, umu, now say it with your eyes open." I said, nodding with a smile.

"Ah, of course, just let go of me first."

Our eyes narrowed as we smiled forcefully at each other.

"Nevermind," I said, letting go. "I already have my answer."

Claire coughed loudly, getting our attention. "Don't forget you're in the presence of Iris-sama."

Iris—who was still in shock from the earlier scene—came to; she looked around bashfully, trying her best to avoid looking at me directly.

"I think that's enough for today," Claire finally said. "Kazuma-dono, Megumin-san…Lalatina, if you all wish, you may stay at a nearby—"

"The palace!" Iris interjected loudly. "You may stay in the palace."

"Iris-sama!"

"Claire, please, I've already done what you've asked of me; if, if you don't let onii-sama stay in the palace, I'll…I'll resent you!"

Almost as if she was shot, Claire recoiled and staggered back, clutching her chest. She dropped to one knee, gritting her teeth, tears dotting her eyes.

"Very well…they…they may stay," She said reluctantly.

"Ah, Claire-chan, you can be quite kind sometimes," I mocked.

She looked up and glared at me fiercely; her first tightening.

"Iris-sama, Kazuma-dono and the others may stay, however, they'll sleep in the other wing of the palace."

Iris appeared somewhat disappointed but didn't protest.

"Kazuma-dono, Megumin-san, I suggest the both you get some early rest; tomorrow will be just as busy."

"Sure thing…Claire-chan."

The following morning, me and Megumin went to our lessons; we spent the better part of the day, there. Rain accompanied me, while Claire and Darkness went with Megumin. After the lessons, it was decided we would go shopping for our wedding rings; we met up at the square.

"Only one of you has to go today," Rain said to me and Megumin.

"Why?" I asked.

"The rings are part of a set," Darkness answered.

_"Make sense."_

"So, which one of you wants to go?" Claire queried.

I looked at Megumin, she, at me.

"You should go," I said.

"Why?"

"Cause I honestly don't know what I'll get you; I haven't the slightest idea when it comes to choosing rings."

Megumin frowned. "I'll try to get something good for our sometimes-reliable leader."

"Oi."

Megumin, Claire, and Darkness headed off into town; leaving me and Rain alone.

"Now what?" I said, turning to her.

"That's all for now, Satou-dono; you're free to do what you'd like."

"Ah, in that case—"

"Iris-sama will be taking her lessons now, so I'm afraid she won't be available."

"Oi, Rain-san, I only come here once in a while; can't I have some time with my beautiful little sister?"

"Please stop referring to Hime-sama as your sister; it's rather disturbing, Satou-dono."

"Hey, Rain-san, can you please stop calling me Satou-dono; makes you feel distant; just keep calling me Kazuma."

Rain stared at me in surprise. "I, I couldn't; it would be highly—"

"Oi, you already knew me before I became a noble so…it's fine, really."

She looked down, a faint smile appearing on her face. "Thank you, Kazuma-dono."

"Umu."

"Here we are," Claire said as we approached a large store. "As all things pertaining to royalty, getting a ring made requires the best artisans; the best smith in the capital is a man going by the name, 'Garren Holt'."

"Is there anything I should know beforehand?" I asked.

"Hm, not really, except that the man is multitalented and exceptionally dedicated to his craft. There aren't any odd rumors surrounding him."

"Good."

As we entered, it was clear this was a multifaceted store; it had shelves upon shelves, racks upon racks of different metallurgic crafts: rings, staves, swords, knives, shields, etcetera; if it had metal in it or on it, it was on display.

"Amazing," Darkness said, browsing the vast collections of swords.

"Try not to break anything; each one these pieces are easily worth an annual salary," Claire informed.

I stepped towards the stave collection. Though I loved the staff Kazuma got me, I couldn't help but stare in awe at the masterworks on display; each one made my heart burn in excitement and my hands tingle with the thought of holding it.

"Megumin-san," Claire said, as I reached out for one of the staves, "over here, please; we're here for your ring."

I looked at her disappointedly, and then walked over.

"I'm here to speak with Holt-dono," Claire said to one of the attendants.

"Name?"

"Claire, of House Symphonia."

The attendant bowed. "Just a moment, Lady Symphonia."

A few minutes later, the attendant returned.

"Lady Symphonia, Master Holt will see you; please, follow me."

The attendant lifted the barrier separating the back half of the shop and led us through. We descended into what appeared to be a cellar. After walking through a dimly lit passage, the sounds of metal hitting metal could be heard far in the distance. The yelling of laborers shouting orders, the rattling of chains and belts, the screeching of tracked carts being moved all filled the corridor we were traveling down. As we drew even closer, the sound of a large furnace belching flames joined the chaotic orchestra.

Before we entered the work area proper, the attendant turned and handed us some helmets and protective glasses.

Darkness refused. "I'm fine like this, worry not; I'm a Crusader, a measly rock falling from the ceiling won't be enough to cause me harm."

"Ah, well…" The attendant wore a troubled expression, she turned to me and Claire for assistance.

"Darkness, just wear the safety equipment."

"B-But, Megumin, look at all the present hazards; if-if I were to wear a helmet or glasses it would just get in the way—of me seeing the threats."

"…they're designed to get in the way, Darkness."

"Lalatina, you're causing trouble; please put on the safety equipment so we may proceed."

Reluctantly, Darkness did.

We continued into the area, moving between workers and more corridors, until we finally reached a large room with a massive forge built into the wall. Several different crafting tables were pressed into the walls and corners of the room. A tall, skinny man with long ears and dirty blonde hair was hunched over the anvil near the forge; he had his back turned to us as he hammered on something.

"Master Holt," the attendant called out when she saw the man stop to examine his creation.

He turned toward us, placing the piece and his forging hammer on the anvil. "Ah, if it isn't Lady Symphonia; do we have a pass?"

Claire nodded, producing another roll of parchment. As the man approached, the light of the forge made it easier to see him. In addition to his slender build, his face was also thin. His skin tinged slightly red (probably due to the constant heat) appeared smooth; the fact that he wore no shirt made it easier to assume so. In the dimness of the light I could just barely make out the green eyes that traced words along the paper he held.

He smiled, rolling the paper up and handing it to the attendant. The attendant quickly bowed and as she exited the forge area, tossed the paper into the roaring flames.

"A pair of wedding rings," he said with a smile. "Hmm, yes, it could be a nice change of pace; Lady Symphonia, are you getting married?"

Claire blushed immediately. "Eh—uh, no, it-it's for her." Again, she showed me off.

The elf approached me and stared curiously. "Oh, a Crimson Demon. Interesting. So, what is it you want me to make, a simple band or something more extravagant?"

I looked at Claire, she shrugged, looking back at me with the same expectation.

"Uh…I'm not really sure…something nice—cool-looking!"

"A nice, cool-looking ring; I like it."

"Roses are the motif, if it helps any," Claire added.

"My, those are the vaguest responses I've had for an order—but…it helps; gives me freedom of choice. A rose, you said?"

Claire nodded.

"Three days till the wedding…it should be plenty of time." He turned back to Claire. "I assume payment won't be an issue?"

"The crown is handling it."

"Of course." The elf turned around and took off his ear extensions, wiping them on a moderately cleaner area of his pants; after some examining, he put them back on. "Very well, be on your way now; I'll have the designs tomorrow for you to look over."

We gave a courteous bow and left.


	10. Chapter 9: A Green Stem & Crimson Petals

**Chapter 9: Of a Green Stem and Crimson Petals **

**Part 1**

Three days left till the wedding, I was starting to feel nervous, but I felt kind of happy; though it wasn't adventuring, it was fun in its own way. It was a new experience I got to share with my friends…well, most of them. It was already going on the fifth day without Aqua returning and I was starting to miss her; though she could act pretty dumb sometimes, having her around usually made things more fun.

The following day, after more lessons, we (along with Kazuma and Rain) returned to Master Holt's forge.

"What do you think?" He said, handing us a seemingly completed ring.

At first glance, the ring appeared to be merely a plain, black wedding band.

"I don't get it," Kazuma said, "it's just a wedding band, right?"

Holt smiled. "Come now, do you really think I would make something so simple; Megumin-san, please, put it on."

I took the ring and slipped it onto my finger. Instantly, it came alive; through the blackness, cracks appeared seeping a red ethereal essence. As it wrapped around my finger, the essence took the shape of blooming roses with the band itself taking an almost ceramic-like sheen to it.

We stared in awe.

"Do you like it?" he asked. "I'm not done with it yet."

"Huh, but it's already really good; what more could you add?"

"I have a few ideas; also, I have to finish the groom's ring. Even though they'll appear similar, we can't have roses blooming around his finger, can't we."

"There's only two days left though."

"Please, it took me less than half a day to complete **that**; I want to create something better. Rest assured you'll have your rings delivered in time; I swear this on my name and job."

With a promise made, we left the shop.

"Rain-san, I wanna spend some time with Iris-chan," Kazuma said as we walked back to the palace.

It was starting to irk me.

"Hey," I said. "why don't we go out somewhere; just me and you, Kazuma?"

"…I'll pass, after all, I'm gonna be with you for a whole day during the wedding."

"Why do you have to say it like it's a bad thing?!"

"That aside, I'm surprised you haven't used Explosion in almost a week."

"Ugh, I've tried, believe me…"

"She has," Claire said with a mildly exasperated tone.

"That's why I'm saying, me and you should go out on date, Kazuma!"

Kazuma appeared to be in some thought.

"I don't know, dates with Megumin are ok, but spending time with Iris-chan is pretty amazing."

Claire nodded in agreement. "I have to agree with Kazuma-dono on this one; sorry, Megumin-san, anything you may have in store pales in comparison to Iris-sama's charm."

I stopped in front of Kazuma. "Then…let's do something else; something you find…fun."

He raised his brow and then smiled deviously.

"Megumin, I think you may have just signed a deal with a devil," Darkness commented.

Claire coughed. "You two are soon to be wed; I suggest leaving such activities till afterwards."

"It-It's nothing like that!" I retorted.

"It's not?" Kazuma said, disappointment filling his voice.

I turned back to him; I could feel myself blushing. "Of-Of course not."

"Ah…guess I'll just stick with Iris-chan then."

I grabbed onto his cloak. "Is that all you think about doing?!"

He pulled my locks and then my hat, causing me to let go. "Of course, why wouldn't I?! I'm a growing boy surrounded by a bunch of beautiful women who—for some reason—are a bunch of wierdos; even I get desperate!"

"Des, Desperate?!" I yelled in anger. "I'm a point of desperation?!"

He examined me. "Hmm…you're…something; I'm still not quite sure—"

I quickly started chanting Explosion; he grabbed me.

"Wait, wait!" Kazuma examined me some more. "Erm…sorry, I'm not getting anything."

I continued to struggle against him.

"Ka-Kazuma, will you point out my lack of sex appeal as well?" Darkness asked excitedly.

"Should be obvious," He answered curtly.

Darkness recoiled in pleasure and fell on all fours, trembling.

"See, this is what I'm talking about; why can't you just act like normal girls?"

"As if you even know what's normal!" I shouted, still tied to the current bout.

"I know normal isn't you guys!"

"Eh, ahem, me and Rain will excuse ourselves; we'll meet up at the usual spot. See you tomorrow."

Claire and Rain left.

"I'll head back as well," Darkness said, completely ignoring my struggle. "See you guys there."

As soon as the two were no longer in sight, Kazuma used Drain Touch.

"Ahhh," I yelled; my energy was quickly sapped from me.

As I lay a crumpled heap, I stared up at him. "You, you demon…how dare you do this to your soon-to-be wife."

"Anyways," he said, dusting his hands off, "I'm headed over to Iris—"

"Kazuma!" I yelled. "Will you really leave me like this?"

He stared at me. "…umu," he nodded. "Yup, see ya."

As he turned to walk away, I used the dregs of my energy to trip him with my staff and bite the back of his cloak; while I did so, I weakly wrapped myself around him.

"Oi, Megumin, get off!" he said, as he tried to reach behind himself. He effortlessly managed to push my arms and legs away but struggled to reach the rest of my body.

After several minutes of failed attempts, he gave up.

"Fine!" he said. "I don't care if you're with me, I'm still going to see Iris!"

I began to feel angry, but more than angry, sad…inadequate. Drained and mentally assaulted, I quickly lost the strength to hold on, and thus, fell off.

"Go then," I said in a low voice, "while you're at it, give her that ring of hers; get married with **her** since you love **her** so much."

Kazuma stared at me. He looked away, sighed, and then sat down.

"Geez, why do you have to get so jealous?"

"Forget it," I replied, "you don't have to stay here and comfort me; you can't even find anything appealing about me. I'm your last option."

"…well, I can't really argue that."

I began to tear up; Kazuma was a real idiot, I knew he could be like this, but…it hurt to hear him say these things…it hurt a lot.

"You are my last…best and only option," he said as he sat back on his arms. "Megumin, you can be quite dumb sometimes, despite your intelligence. You know I'm not the type of guy to be openly sappy about things. And it should be no surprise, but I'm someone who follow his desires; well, I think we all are. Listen, I, I know sometimes I say or do things that make you feel…like I don't really care, but you should know, I don't really wanna hurt you."

I leaned over with all my strength and tried to reach out to him. Kazuma grabbed my hand and fed me enough energy to move; with the burst of energy, I instantly lunged forward and kissed him.

After several seconds, I pulled away slowly and stared at him. "Sorry, I—"

He shook his head. "…you still up for that date?"

I looked at him with surprise, and then smiled. "Umu," I replied, kissing him once more.

After returning from the outskirts of the capital (and Explosion date), Megumin fell asleep on my back.

_"I hope she doesn't drool on me this time."_

I walked to her assigned room and placed her on the bed. I began to stare at her longingly.

"You're cutest when you're like this," I said with a faint smile.

Of course, she didn't reply. I pulled up the sheets and covered her. Though it was around late evening, I felt extremely tired; I figured I would take a bath and then head to bed.

When I awoke the following morning, I noticed I was still in Megumin's room. I looked around in confusion and realized that I fell asleep while thinking about what I was gonna do next. Since I had fallen asleep in such an awkward position, my neck hurt. As I massaged it, I looked over at Megumin; she was still sound asleep, curled into a fetal position.

There was a knock on the door.

"Megumin-san, wake up; it's time for your lessons." It was Claire.

Hearing the knocks, Megumin jolted awake; she rubbed her eyes sleepily and then stared at me.

"Kazuma," she said drowsily, "what are you doing here?"

"Eh, I must've fallen asleep when I dropped you off."

"Megumin-san."

I got up and answered the door.

"Kazuma-dono, what are…nevermind. Is Megumin-san awake?"

"I'm actually surprised you didn't freak out."

"You're to be wed shortly; it's only natural to expect such things. Now enough of your nonsense, can you wake Megumin-san? Also, you have to go to—"

"No, that's it; three days of torture is more than enough. That man is too strict and…I think he fancies men."

"Shouldn't be a problem for you then."

I was slightly surprised by her comeback. "Touché; since that was such a rare treat, I'll let you off this time."

"Look, since—"

Megumin appeared beside me; her hair was a mess and she was still noticeably groggy. "Yes, Claire-san?" She said, yawning shortly after.

Claire sighed. "When you're ready just come to the square."

"I thought that's what agreed on in the first place?" I remarked.

"We've lost valuable time because the three of you decided to sleep in."

"Three?"

"Yes, even Lalatina is still sleeping; I swear, she's starting to lose her edge."

"I don't think she had an edge to begin with."

Claire gave a brief smile and turned away. "Please don't dally." She walked off.

_"Ah, I feel like I just witnessed something I shouldn't've."_

After Megumin spruced up, we headed to the square where Claire, Rain, and Darkness were already waiting.

"Alright, today is fairly simple," Claire began, "Kazuma-dono, you and Rain will head to the Royal Tailor's and check on your suit. Lalatina and I will give lesson to Megumin-san, after which, we'll head to Master Holt's to see the finalized design of the rings. Any questions?"

I raised my hand. "What do I do after?"

"You're free to do what you wish—and since I know that means bothering Iris-sama, I'll ask you to please keep the visit down to two hours."

"Eh, two hours?"

"Kazuma-dono, Iris-sama also has lessons I must teach," Rain clarified.

"Eh, but one day off won't be too bad; come on, it's not like—"

"Absolutely not," Claire interrupted. "If we allow her to skip a day, it won't be long until she pleads for several more, soon enough she'll become as unrefined as Lalatina, here."

Darkness appeared to be struggling between choosing to be mad or amused by the insult.

"*sigh* fine."

As per our directions, me and Rain went to the Royal Tailor's.

"We're here to see Lady Ephemera," Rain said to the guardsmen at the door.

He nodded and stepped away, leaving the other guardsman to stare us down.

"…oi, I know you're just doing your job, but staring at people like that gets really uncomfortable," I stated.

The guard kept silent but shifted his attention slightly. A few moments later, the other returned.

"You may enter." They stepped aside, allowing us entrance.

Once inside, Lady Ephemera quickly came to meet us.

"Humph, if it isn't the shameless cretin and the Princess' doll," She commented, taking a seat on the cushions near the entrance.

As if unfazed by the insult, Rain bowed courteously. "Lady Ephemera, we've come—"

"For the suit, I know." She withdrew a roll of paper and tossed it at me.

Catching it, I unrolled it. Printed on its surface was the design of my outfit. There was nothing entirely remarkable about how it looked; it appeared to be standard attire for a wedding. The colors were red and black; the suit, tie, and vest being black, the undershirt red; all featuring a baroque-style embroidery that lightly formed blooming roses in key parts.

"I'd prefer to show it to you in person, however, since time is short, I was forced to turn it over."

"And what if I don't like?" I said, lowering the piece of paper.

She smirked. "Then by all means…bring it back."

I handed her back the roll. "Guess we're done here. Alright, Rain, let's go back to the palace."

Rain bowed once more. "Thank you for your time, Lady Ephemera."

As we were about to leave, Ephemera called out to Rain.

"You carry yourself with dignity despite what you are…don't be so reticent; it breeds malice."

Rain stared in surprise. She looked down briefly, and then looked back at her with a smile. "I assure, I'm happy with my lot in life."

Ephemera narrowed her eyes. "…of course you are."

After that odd exchange, we left. On the way back, I couldn't help but question Rain.

"What was that all about?"

She glanced at me. "Honestly, I don't know; as you've experienced, Lady Ephemera is unconventional; she can be quite cryptic at times…or so I've heard."

"Eh, she seems to have a nasty attitude towards you though."

"…it can because of my low status."

I felt pity for Rain; it was unclear to me how much rank mattered, but these past few days it was becoming abundantly clear that things in this world-or in the very least, this kingdom—were heavily influenced by the noble class. People who were at the bottom of this structure were either detritus to be discarded or chaff to be tossed aside; you were either someone or no one.

After we arrived, Rain led me to Iris' room.

"Here we are," she said, turning to me. "Kazuma-dono, please don't take too long and be mindful of what you say to Iris-sama; she's highly influenced by your actions."

"Hey, relax, I got it; all I'm gonna do is just tell her a couple stories, that's all."

Rain stared quite sternly, and then let out a low sigh. "…I'll return in two hours, Kazuma-dono."

"Umu."

She walked off.

Before I could knock, the door swung open; Iris stuck her head out. She smiled widely as soon as she saw me.

"Onii-sama!" She yelled, hugging me.

"Hey, Iris-chan; guess what, I can hang out with you for a bit."

"Really?!" She said, stepping back and staring at me.

"Umu."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me into her room. "Come, Onii-sama, tell me more about your adventures—about anything!"

I chuckled as I was pulled along.

"Here you go," Holt said, handing me the set of rings; they were contained in a tiny box.

As I went to open it, he grabbed my hand and shook his head.

"Let it be a surprise; if you really want to know, the design hasn't really changed much; just some added things. Looks are important, but what really matters…is function." He seemed to be staring at me intently as he said this.

"Thank you, Master Holt," Claire said with a bow.

He shifted his attention to her. "No, thank **you **for giving me the opportunity; it isn't every day I get to do a wedding ring."

"I'm curious," I said, interrupting. "Holt Garren; that doesn't sound like an elven name."

He smiled. "Ah, indeed it isn't."

"Is it a nickname then?"

He shook his head. "No, it's my real name; it's dwarven."

"Ah, so your parents were—"

"They were both elven; it's a long story—one I'd rather not get into at the moment, but who knows, perhaps some other time. Anyways, come by again if you need anything done; though I officially do work on crown passes, I offer my talents in exchange for favors as well."

With the goal of receiving the rings done, my duties for today were officially over. I let out a breath of relief.

"Finally done," I said as we walked back towards the palace.

"Tomorrow's the wedding," Darkness reminded me.

Claire added. "Tomorrow is when the real test starts, Megumin-san; the culmination of every effort this past week will be on display. Breathe easy once tomorrow ends, but until then consider your struggles far from over."

A while later, we arrived back at the palace. As we approached Iris' room, we could hear Kazuma speaking; Claire went to knock, but I held her arm.

"Wait," I said. "Listen…"

"Oi, Iris-chan, it's all over your face now; geez, this could be incredibly troublesome if someone walked in…"

"Ahh, Onii-sama, I'm sorry; it's all sticky."

"Hold on, let me just—oi, stop trying to lick it."

We all froze at what we were hearing on the other side of the door; there's no way…no, obviously this was just a misunderstanding…right? Claire's eyes were completely wide with shock, her mouth agape, and her hand frozen. Before I could rationalize the situation, we heard Kazuma speak once more.

"Damn, to think you got so much on you; I don't think I'm gonna be able to get it all off like this."

"I'm, I'm sorry, Onii-sama; I was just so excited to be able to finally—"

"There, there, Iris-chan, it's fine." He chuckled. "To think you can be so messy."

"Onii-sama, please don't tease me like that."

"That bastard, I'LL KILL HIM!" Claire yelled, drawing her sword and rushing into the room.

"Huh—Oi, Claire-chan, what the—"

Claire swung her blade with full intent to kill. Miraculously, Kazuma somehow managed to dodge it. He put his hands up in defense.

"Wait, wait, I don't know what you're doing—"

"You damn cur, you think you can get away—"

"Claire-chan, why are—"

"Iris-sama, please don't try to defend this, this"—Her face twisted with the struggle of finding words to describe her thoughts and feelings—"this beast, THIS PREDATOR!"

"Woah, wait, I don't know what you think—wait, were you standing outside?!"

Claire thrust her blade forward, the tip catching the top edge of Kazuma's shirt and cloak. She pressed the edge of her blade close to his neck.

"Yes, I was outside—luckily!"

"Claire-chan, that's enough!" Iris yelled; her face full of fury.

"But, Iris-sama—"

"Claire!"

She clenched her jaw and grit her teeth; after an incredible amount of effort she withdrew her blade and sheathed it.

"Explain yourself, you piece of trash!"

Kazuma, who appeared utterly confused and frightened by the raid, looked towards me. I was still frozen at what I heard. Claire grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground.

"I may not be able to drive my blade into your disgusting body, but I swear on the name of my house, that I'll break you if you don't tell me what the hell you were doing to Iris-sama just now."

He gulped. "We-We were, I-I was, just cleaning her face."

Claire tightened her grip. "I know…**why** were you cleaning her face?"

"C-Cause it was dirty."

Claire appeared as if she was going to tear Kazuma in half. "YOU THINK I'M JOKING WITH YOU?!"

"Claire-chan," Iris said, gently grabbing her arm. "I'm sorry, it was my fault; I was the one who asked."

Claire let go of Kazuma in shock; all hope drained from her as she stared in complete disbelief.

"I-Iris," I said, stepping forward, "what did you ask for; what did Kazuma do?"

She looked worriedly between me and Claire. "I'm, I'm sorry, I didn't think it would be such—"

"Just tell me what happened!"

All this time, Darkness stood silently; she was completely stunned at what was going on. I felt that between her wild imagination and her sense of duty, she was at a complete standstill, and unable to do anything.

"I-I, w-we"—she looked desperately to Kazuma-"I just—"

In my moment of rising anger and impulsiveness, I grabbed Iris by the collar and pulled her close.

"Stop stammering and tell me what the hell happened!"

The two people who would've done something about the current situation were incapacitated.

"Megumin-nee, I…I'm sorry, I just"—she closed her eyes in shame—"I just ate ice cream with Kazuma onii-sama!" She yelled quickly, bursting into tears as she finished.

I let go. "Ice cream?" I said; my sense of surprise preventing from comprehending. "You two were eating ice cream?"

"Wha, what the hell did you guys think I was doing to her?!" Kazuma yelled, quickly getting to his feet.

Everyone immediately came to their senses and looked away.

"Ah, YOU DAMN PERVERTS! You actually think I would—she's way too young!"

"That shouldn't be your reply, you wretch!" Claire said, grabbing Kazuma by the collar once more.

Kazuma broke free and stepped back angrily. "What the hell is wrong with you guys; if it was me, I would've immediately known this was some sort of clichéd romcom development."

"We were worried **because** it was you!" I yelled in response.

"Oi, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not a lolicon!"

"That line of thinking is flawed fundamentally," Claire retorted. "You're getting married with Megumin-san, it's obvious—"

"Oi, are you calling me a loli?!"

Iris laughed. "I don't know what was making everyone so angry, but I'm glad everyone's ok now."

I sighed. Truly, this girl lacks common sense. "Iris, do you wanna go bathe?" I asked.

"Huh, uhhh, sure."

"I-Iris-sama, if you wish to bathe, please, let me—"

"It's ok, Claire-chan, I'll go bathe with Megumin-nee; I feel I have to make up for whatever misunderstanding I've caused here."

"Iris-sama, that's preposterous, you're the—"

Iris raised her hand to stop Claire from speaking. "Then I command you to allow me to make up for my mistakes."

"I…Iris-sama…very well, if it's your command I have no right to refuse."

Just then, Rain returned. "Huh, what's going on?" She asked, looking at us.

Kazuma instantly replied, "These idiots thought I was doing—"

"We had plenty of reason to assume, Kazuma-dono was doing depraved acts towards Iris-sama," Claire interrupted.

"I should've known." Darkness finally spoke. "Anyone would, but specifically, Kazuma lacks the stones for anything like this—"

"Oi, you shut up; if I remember, you were so hesitant about getting a measly kiss!" Kazuma retorted.

"Wha-Wha-What are you saying all of a sudden?!"

As Kazuma argued with Darkness and Claire, Iris pulled me outside the room.

"Megumin-nee," she said, looking away sadly, "I'm sorry for causing a misunderstanding."

"Uh—it's fine, Iris, you don't have to apologize; I shouldn't have thought…anyways, it wasn't your fault; if anyone's to blame, it's definitely Kazuma."

"…onii-sama."

I stared at Iris; something about her made me extremely anxious…no, I knew exactly what made me anxious.

"Eh, Iris, don't worry about that, just…let's go bathe; I'm sure you feel a little dirty, being around Kazuma too long tends to give you that feeling," I said, trying to dispel the somber atmosphere.

She looked up and nodded.

As I followed her through the hall, she spoke. "Hey, Megumin-nee."

"Hmm?"

"Y-You…you said once that you've taken baths with Kazuma onii-sama, how is it?"

I was sort of taken aback by the abruptness of such a question. "How, how was it; what are you referring to exactly?"

"Hm, the bath; is there something more?"

"Ah of course not…r-right, the bath. Well…it was…a bit odd at first, but…I guess I sorta got used to it."

"Do you…bathe together regularly?"

**Part 2**

What an odd topic to be on; I mean sure, we were gonna take a bath, but it wasn't a line of questioning I was prepared to have.

"I mean…not…regularly."

"So, occasionally?"

"Erm…yeah…Iris why're you asking me this?"

I could see her twiddling her fingers. She stopped and whipped around.

"Is it ok if I bathe with Kazuma onii-sama one day?"

I was astonished she would ask something so bold. "Of course not," I replied.

"Of…of course not, why would I ask something like that?" Iris turned back around and continued walking; I followed.

"Iris," I said sternly, "even if Kazuma and me weren't getting married…he's still mine; I'm not giving him up for no one…not even the Princess of a country."

She stopped for a moment and then resumed walking. I saw her rub her ring finger.

"What if Kazuma onii-sama decided differently?" She asked, her tone somewhat distant.

"Should Kazuma decide he doesn't want to be with me, then so be it; I won't make him stay with me."

I frowned subconsciously.

"...here we are."

She opened the door to the bathroom. My jaw dropped as I laid eyes on a room easily the size of the entire first floor of our mansion. A massive bath, surrounded by enormous pillars, sat in the center; "smaller" baths were built into the corners of the larger one. Off to the side (and where we were headed) were a pair of adjacent rooms (which I presumed were changing rooms).

"Wha, what is this?" I said in disbelief.

Iris looked at me in confusion. "Is there something weird about this bath?"

"Weird?!" I yelled. "It's massive; I, I never seen anything so big!"

Iris appeared genuinely surprised. "Really? I thought all private baths were this large."

"I, Iris, this room is bigger than most houses, let alone a single bathroom. _Insane, I thought the bath in mansion was pretty big, but this makes it look like a bucket by comparison._"

As we entered one of the rooms, Iris turned to me.

"Ok, Megumin-nee, we can keep our clothes and items here."

"Ah, ok."

She undressed first, with me following suit shortly after. Though we were somewhat close and occasionally went out to do activities requiring bathing after, this was the first time we actually bathed together, and consequently, the first time I laid eyes on her naked body; it was small, slender, and underdeveloped. I looked at my own in comparison and realized—much to my dismay—that there was barely any difference, if any.

"Hm, Megumin-nee, are you alright; you don't look so well."

"Ah, it's nothing," I replied despondently.

Iris smiled childishly. "Don't worry, Megumin-nee, whatever problems you have or are feeling, the waters of the bath will take care of it."

"Oh?" I said; the statement piquing my interest.

"Umu, the bath waters are purified and have medicinal qualities."

_"Ah, how privileged…"_

After washing ourselves. Iris grabbed my arm and led me to the enormous bath. She ran in and frolicked for a bit before turning to me and smiling.

"Come on, Megumin-nee."

I hesitantly waded in.

"Ahhh." I let out a deep sigh of relief and crouched into the bath.

Iris swam over to my side and sat with me.

"Is it good?"

"Mhm," I said, nodding. I let the lower half of my face sink below the surface.

Quiet pervaded the room for several minutes as we lounged in the pool.

"If I can't take a bath with him, can I at least go on an adventure with him?"

I turned my head lazily towards her. "Umu…I don't really mind if you spend time with Kazuma; I'm just not about to make concessions on his affection."

"…Megumin-nee…why do you like onii-sama?" Iris asked, she turned her head towards me as her body slowly drifted along.

"Hmm, so many people seem to ask me that. The long and short of it is, I just do; as a Crimson Demon I have no need to know why I like something; if I like it, that's reason enough."

"Hmm," Iris said disappointingly, "seems like a very shallow reason to like someone."

I shifted somewhat angrily at her reply and opened my eyes; I stared out across the room as I thought about her question.

"…Kazuma's a jerk a lot of the times, a pervert, a womanizer…but for the moments that he isn't…it makes him worth it…no, that's not right…I'd say, in spite of it…Kazuma's worth it to me. I, I'm happy ever since I've met him; it's a happiness I've never known before. If there's any better reason to love someone…then I guess I don't know it. That's why, no matter what, I can't give him up; would anyone willingly give up their happiness, their reason to live?"

Iris was slightly shocked; her face softened to reveal a saddened expression. "So, onii-sama means that much to you…"

There was another bout of silence.

"Megumin-nee, it might surprise you, but there **are** people who willingly give up their happiness."

I looked at her, she looked back; my eyes drifted away. "Then I guess I'm selfish."

She smiled. "Onii-sama told me it's good to be selfish sometimes."

_"Oi, Kazuma, what are you teaching this girl?!"_

She continued. "People get hurt when I'm selfish though; it's not something I like doing."

"…people get hurt either way," I remarked, closing my eyes and relaxing once more.

"That's still no reason to freely hurt others, Megumin-nee."

While I wasn't the type of person to sacrifice others, I wasn't exactly the righteous type either; I would try my very best to help others when I could, but if I determined my life was at great risk, I could find it very hard to motivate myself to do so; the obvious exception to this being my friends.

"I know that, Iris-sama."

She raised her brow at my response. Her body slowly drifted into me.

"You're my dear friend, Megumin-nee, Boss; I want you to know that."

I stared at her; I heard her words and deep inside I wanted to believe them and feel the same way, but I felt a coldness…an odd aversion to this girl who was treating me so kindly. As I stared, her eyes also grew distant; the same expression she had when she first met us.

A smile crept up my face. "Iris…you are my close friend too."

She smiled at my reply. "Good…let us remain friends forever then, Megumin-nee."

"Of course, Iris-sama; not only have you treated me well, but I'm also a Crimson Demon. As tradition, our clan has existed to fight alongside the capital against the forces of darkness; I'm committed to this cause as well. These reasons alone are enough to have become friends."

"Umu…however," Iris finally sat up in the water; she stood in front of me, "should the situation of me fighting you ever come to pass—hypothetically—who would win, I wonder."

I stood up.

"My Explosion magic, of course."

Iris stared at me silently and then narrowed her eyes. "…Megumin-nee, you know…I've just noticed something."

"…"

"Back when you called me a close friend, you had a blue glint in your eyes…"

They widened.

"…maybe I was imagining it."

_"Did I…no, did **she** actually see something?"_

At this point I was already losing track of what I was feeling; the impulsiveness I thought I had brought under control was now starting to show whenever I grew jealous. It was something that I was conscious of after the fact, and a thing I had to keep a close check on; I hadn't forgotten what I almost did to Darkness. Should something similar happened between me and Iris, the consequences would be short and decisive.

"Iris—"

"Megumin-nee, it's getting a bit late; tomorrow's your wedding, so, you should get a head start on sleep."

"…umu." As I began to walk out of the bath, Iris called out.

"Megumin-nee"—I looked back—"you **are** my friend…right?" She stared squarely at me, at my eyes.

"…isn't it obvious?" I replied. "Of course, I'm your friend."

Iris continued to stare at me, and then smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

**_-Wedding Day: Morning, 8AM_**

Needless to say, I couldn't really get any sleep; regardless, today was the day of the wedding and Claire was soon knocking at my door.

"Megumin-san, please wake up; there's much to do."

I stared up at the gilded ceiling; my eyes felt puffy and my head heavy with drowsiness. Reluctantly, I got up and answered the door.

"Megumin-san…are, are you…feeling well?" Claire asked with a hint of worry.

"I'm fine, just…didn't get enough sleep."

"…hmm, very well, I'll be back in two hours; please get some rest, we can't have you looking like you were abused on the day of your wedding."

"Oh, that's…quite kind of you, Claire-san."

She grimaced. "You all seem to have a mistaken view of me; anyways…get some rest; I'll handle some of the things I was to do with you."

"Ah, thank you, Claire, I mean it."

"Humph…" She gave a short nod, and then walked off.

"Ugh, sleep…" I said, stumbling back towards the bed; I collapsed upon it and pulled the sheets over myself. For some odd reason I was now able to sleep peacefully.

"Kazuma-dono, please get up!" Rain yelled through the door.

"I refuse," I replied, snuggling into the bed.

"There are still some things we have to do, Kazuma-dono, please…I'll get in trouble if we don't do them."

I opened my eyes. "…argh…fine."

I got out of bed and opened the door.

"Ka-Kazuma-dono," Rain said, she quickly looked away, "c-can you please get into more appropriate clothing?"

I was standing in a half-open sleep robe. "Ah, sorry, Rain-san, it was pretty hot last night." I walked over and got into my adventurer's outfit.

"What do we need to do?" I said as we walked through the halls.

"Just some preliminary checks; though a marriage is typically left to the bride, in your case, **you're **the noble so Megumin-san's decisions are subservient to your own—"

"It's fine, anything she decides she wants for the wedding I'm ok with; besides, what the hell would I know about weddings?"

Rain sighed at my hasty reply. "In any case, Kazuma-dono, it's still a good idea to look over and see if there's anything you might want changed."

"A little late for that, isn't it?"

"Normally, however, we still have some time to adjust minor things."

"Alright, so what is it you want me to see."

"Come, Iris-sama is waiting for you."

Shortly after, we were once again standing in front of Iris' room.

"Iris-sama," Rain said as she gently knocked, "I've brought—"

Iris opened the door.

"Onii-sama, Rain, please come in."

She closed the door as we entered.

"Please, sit," she said, taking her own.

As we did, Iris handed me a sizeable stack of papers.

"What's this?" I asked, glancing at her as I looked over it briefly.

"Everything pertaining to the wedding; guests, food, drinks, designs and their colors, exemptions, speeches—"

"Eh, I told Rain-san anything on here should be ok; I trust your judgement much better than I do mine in these matters."

"I see; well, if that's the case then there's nothing else that needs to be done…actually, Onii-sama…"

"Hm?"

"We've invited Megumin-nee's parents, but I don't think we've—"

"Ah, don't worry about it; my parents can't come anyways."

"Huh?" Both Iris and Rain said.

"Umu, they live far away, so—"

"Kazuma onii-sama!" Iris interrupted loudly. "It doesn't matter where they are; they're your parents and you're getting married; they **must** be here."

_"Damn it, this just got a bit more complicated._ Well, they can't travel," I said somewhat nervously.

"Why?"

"Well…they have…they have a disease that'll kill them if they leave the country."

Iris gasped, covering her mouth as she did. "What a terrible disease."

I glanced over at Rain; she stared blankly at me.

"Iris-sama, whatever the case, I believe we should respect Kazuma-dono's decision to not include his parents."

Iris looked sad, but she nodded. "Ok, Onii-sama…how unfortunate, that one's parents cannot see their child marry."

"Eh, don't worry, Iris-chan; I'll be sure to see them again one day, perhaps then I could tell them everything that's happened since my absence_—and then they'll promptly put me in psychiatric ward._"

"Well then, Onii-sama, I believe that's it."

"Ah, then that means I can spend some time with you now, right?"

Iris smiled happily as she was about to respond; however, Rain interrupted her.

"Iris hime-sama, please remember there's still much to do on our end."

"…right," She said somberly.

I sighed. "Well, if I can't spend time with Iris-chan what am I supposed to do?"

"I would recommend you stay awake, Kazuma-dono," Rain replied. "Find something to do within the city."

"Like?"

"I'm sure there are plenty activities you can think of; just remember, the actual procession takes place in the early afternoon so try not to do something that will ruin you before then."

Soon after, I dejectedly left the palace grounds. I headed over to the square and sat in one of the many benches. The day was warm and sunny, but there was a gentle breeze blowing; strictly speaking, it was a perfect day…meaning I expected something to run afoul at some point. I sighed at this realization and slumped back in my seat.

Even though it was the day of the wedding, I was no longer anxious— at least for the mean time —at the thought of getting married; truth be told, I felt nothing. It wasn't that I suddenly didn't care, rather, I felt it was no longer a concern in the back of my mind—perhaps it came from a lack of understanding. Whatever was the outcome of all this, so be it; up till now, there was no discernable difference between the way all of us acted towards each other, and I felt fairly certain there would be no major differences afterwards.

I closed my eyes and began to think, "_what was I missing now?"_ I was rich, famous, had a place of my own…was soon to be married. Was this the peaceful life I was searching for all along, have I finally obtained it? That line of thought came crashing down as I remembered the entire reason I was still here; there were still a number of Demon Kings that needed to be defeated—not to mention their Generals—and then after they were all gone, the Demon God.

I shuddered at the thought. To my knowledge, however, there was no time limit imposed on when this had to be done; so, I would take as long as I could and enjoy the fruits of my labor. As I sat thinking about nothing in particular, I remembered the skill points I had saved up.

"Ah, right there's still those skill points." I withdrew my adventurer's card and studied the skills available to me. _"Cooking, tailoring, smithing…Sacred Lightning…Blare?"_ I paused as I thought briefly on what that was. "SACRED LIGHTNING—" I caught myself shouting and instantly looked around to see if anyone noticed; luckily, no one did.

_"Sacred Lightning Blare, that's Iris' attack; how the hell do I have access to—oh…but it's sixty skill points…what the hell, that's more than Explosion. Still, the fact that I can learn it is pretty cool in of itself; odd though, I thought she said it was royal-unique skill…perhaps I should ask her about it later."_

I continued looking through the list.

_"Heal…I **could** learn it; since Aqua isn't around, it might be a good idea to know it just in case something goes wrong. Still, if she found out I did…" _I sighed and continued looking. _"Explosion, Decoy…hmm, a bunch of magic skills…where'd I…right, must've been when I was with Yunyun."_

I looked over the assortment of magic skills.

_"Fireball, Lightning, Blade of Wind, Freeze Bind, Freeze Gust…Light of Saber…lots of different skills, but I don't have enough skill points for most of them. Hmmm, perhaps, Fireball or Lightning would be good; Lightning could be used outside of battle too…hmmm…"_

Eventually, I put away my adventurer's card without picking a new skill; I figured there was no sense of urgency to learning something at the moment, so I thought it would be better to bank the points. I got up and stretched. After a while of thinking, I settled on going to the guild hall and getting a bit of food and a few drinks.

When I arrived, I quickly took a seat and signaled the barmaid.

"Welcome, what can I…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at me.

"Hey, can I get—"

"Wahh, are you—you are, you're Satou-sama, Slayer of Demon King, Vanquisher of the Demon King's Generals!"

I was taken aback by the level of excitement and praise this girl was throwing at me; I shirked back in response, but quickly recomposed myself as she wailed in happiness.

_"Hold on, Kazuma, this is what you've always wanted, right; to be fawned over and flaunted by pretty women…yes…of course, this is perfect."_

I cleared my throat and put on airs. "Ah, yeah, that's me, Satou Kazuma, Demon King Slayer."

The barmaid leaned over eagerly, her cleavage in clear view. "Satou-sama, if-if it isn't any trouble, c-can I have your signature?"

"Ah, of course," I said, flicking my hair back. "Where can I sign?"

"Lily!" Another barmaid yelled; she came over with an angry expression. "You're supposed to—"

"Huh—oh, Rosa, look, this is—"

"Oh my god!" she yelled; her angry expression being replaced by surprise. "Y-You're—"

"Ah, Satou Kazuma, Slayer of the Demon King, Vanquisher of—"

"C-Can I have your autograph?!"

"Huh?" The girl named lily responded; she turned angrily at the other barmaid. "Oi, I was here first, Rosa, he's my customer; back off and get your own."

The other barmaid, Rosa, glared at her in kind. "I'm sure Satou-sama doesn't want to be served by a cow with oversized udders."

"C-Cow? Umu, it's alright, Rosa, I can tell you're feeling quite self-conscious seeing as yours are just…average."

I stared in mild surprise as the barmaids yelled insults at one another continuously; to think that women would be fighting over me, **me**.

"What's going on here?!" Another woman said; she appeared to be the lead receptionist of the guild.

The bustier of the two barmaids spoke; her voice carrying a slight weight of nervousness. "Ah, Maya, me and Rosa were just discussing who should take care of Satou-sama over here."

The receptionist stared at me, but her unlike the other two, her glowering expression didn't change; she turned her attention back to the girl named Lily.

"Who came first?" She asked sternly.

"I did," they both exclaimed in unison.

She narrowed her eyes and then turned to me once more. "Satou-sama, which one of these girls attended to you first?"

I looked at the barmaids; they each stared at me with wanton eyes. I turned my attention to the receptionist and sternly answered.

"Both of them."

**_-Wedding Day: Morning, 10:05AM_**

"Megumin-san," Claire said as she knocked.

I opened my eyes and rubbed them wearily. "I'm up," I replied faintly.

"May I enter?"

"Sure."

Claire opened the door and stepped in; she closed it behind her.

"Megumin-san, most of the miscellaneous tasks have been completed; however, much of the time left is for your preparation. The procession takes place in"—Claire retrieved a pocket watch from her inner coat—"less than five hours."

I sat up slowly. "Seems like a lot of time."

"You underestimate what needs to be done; this wedding isn't a simple one, as I'm sure you've noticed. Since Iris-sama is your benefactor, everything must be perfect; anything less will besmirch her efforts."

"…right; can I get some time to get—"

"That's why I'm here; everything started the moment the day began."

"What do you mean?" I queried, my drowsiness starting to fade.

"Everything; bathing you, dressing you, doing your hair, applying makeup, all of it will be done by us."

"I-I can handle those things—"

"It's not a matter of ability, Megumin-san; like I said, the standards which you must present yourself must no less than what a **true** noble expects. Worry not, Lalatina and I will preside over you; I know you have a rather trepidatious attitude concerning such things. Now don't dally; Lalatina is waiting for us."

I got up and ran over to get into my standard attire.

"Leave them," Claire said. "You'll be wearing robes for the most part." She opened the door and stepped aside. "Go on, first we're headed to the bath."

I nodded and walked ahead.

"Where's Darkness?" I asked as we walked.

"Luckily, Lalatina decided to wake early today; she should be waiting for us in the bathroom."

As we entered, Darkness was indeed waiting for us, along with a number of other maids. Claire stood by the entrance; I assumed she was there to make sure no one else entered. Within moments, the maids all descended upon me like a school of piranhas, stripping me of what little clothes I had. As they were about to pull me along, Darkness stepped between them and shook her head; the maids obediently stepped away.

Darkness turned to me. "Now, a proper wash," She said with a smile.

I sat quietly as Darkness gently scrubbed me; though she did nothing questionable, I felt somewhat embarrassed.

She spoke. "This is what I should've done…back then." Her face held a faint expression of sadness as she said it.

"…it's not your fault; I'm to blame for that whole situation."

"But I made it worse…"

"…it's fine, Darkness; I've already forgiven you. If anything, **I** should be the one asking for forgiveness."

"…turn around—"

"It's fine…I-I can clean my front."

She stared at me and then sighed. She glanced over at the group of maids and Claire, then looked back at me. "Claire's gonna be mad if I don't," She whispered.

"**I'm** gonna be mad if you **do**."

"Would you prefer they do it?"

"How about **I** do it?"

"Megumin…"

"I **know** how to bathe myself, this is, is ridiculous."

"Just endure it; you can see why I don't fancy this lifestyle."

"Is this what I'm gonna have to deal with?"

"I assume on occasion you probably will."

I looked away, frowning at the thought.

"Lalatina, are you done?" Claire said, her voice reverberating through the large room.

"Ah, almost," Darkness replied. She stared at me once more.

I sighed deeply and then lifted my arms, looking away as she began to scrub once more. Darkness continued, she scrubbed my neck, arms, and as she came to my chest, hesitated; I closed my eyes and swallowed deeply as she then, scrubbed my chest.

"W-Why are you so nervous?" She whispered; she, herself, growing flustered.

"J-Just hurry up," I replied, letting out tiny whimpers.

Moments later, she scrubbed my armpits causing me to laugh hysterically.

"Easy," I said in a loud whisper.

"S-Sorry," She apologized, transitioning to my sides.

Again, I laughed as she rubbed the cloth over my ribs.

"You're ridiculously ticklish, Megumin," Darkness said, trying to stifle her own laughs.

"Hey, who wouldn't laugh when you're poking at their sides?"

"Lalatina!" Claire said, her voice more stern than before.

"Al-Almost!" She replied.

**Part 3**

Darkness looked up at me with a slightly worried expression; next was my stomach.

"J-Just, hurry," I said, looking away and closing my eyes once more.

Once again, as Darkness scrubbed, I found myself unable to contain my laughter. She quickly grabbed and extended my feet continuing, eventually doing the same to the other side. When she finished, she stood up and wiped her brow; her face was flush.

"Under the fountain, quickly," She said.

I did as I was instructed and rinsed myself off.

"Are we done, Lalatina?" Claire said; she walked over.

"Umu."

"Good." Claire turned to the maids and gave them a nod.

Instantly, they fell upon me again and dried me down. They dressed me in white bathrobes, quickly drying my hair and wrapping it a towel.

"Quickly, follow me," Claire said, leading from the front.

We followed until we arrived at another large room; this was outfitted with three chairs—two rather large ones and a smaller one—and a large mirror on the wall. A tall onee-chan with blonde hair and green eyes stood by the smaller chair, waiting; at a mere glance, I could she was the stylist.

Claire turned around and introduced us. "Megumin-san, this is Emiria Reiah, Court Stylist."

The woman gave a short nod and smiled.

"Lady Reiah, the bride, Satou Megumin-san. I suppose you've been informed."

"Of course, Claire-sama."

"Very well, I hope you don't mind if myself and Lady Dustiness stay while you work."

"Of course not."

Claire turned to the maids and without a word, they left.

"Please, sit," Reiah said, turning the chair around.

As I walked up, I noticed the chair had a large letter "I" engraved into its gilded border, and as I sat down, felt the extraordinary comfort of the cushions; it didn't take much thinking to know this was probably Iris' chair; despite that, it felt as if the chair was made for me.

"Now, Megumin-san, do you know how'd you like your hair; would you like to choose from a—"

"Straight, long; I don't want a single strand cut…please."

I could see Claire and Darkness' surprise reflected in the mirror.

"Hmm." The stylist unwrapped the towel from my head and then my hair; it fell to length. She stared as she fiddled with it for a few minutes. "You don't want it cut, right?"

I nodded.

"Would you mind if I braided it?"

I gave it a moment's thought and smiled. "No, I don't mind—not all of it though, right?"

"No, I was thinking more these locks you have. As far as your hair goes though, Megumin-san, we will have to cut a bit—"

"I refuse."

Reiah coughed gently. "It's just to align it, the tips; worry not, there won't be any drastic changes to the length, I promise."

"…ok."

There was some minutes of silence with a couple sounds of cutting interspersed. Even though she promised, I still grew nervous whenever I heard the scissors going to work.

"Hmm, Megumin," Darkness said, "I haven't really noticed till now, but your hair has gotten longer, hasn't it?"

"Umu," I answered.

"I thought you didn't like long hair?"

"Hmm, did I say that?"

"Umu, I seem to recall you saying that long hair was tedious to care for."

"Well, it's true, isn't it?"

"…I suppose, but if you don't like it, why not take this oppor—"

"Because I changed my mind; I like long hair now."

Claire—who, for the most part was sitting back waiting—raised her brow and sat up. She gave a brief smirk as her eyes met my own in the mirror; however, she didn't say anything.

After an hour or so, the stylist stopped. I stared at myself in the mirror. As she said, my locks were braided. She slightly swept my bangs to the side, making them part over my left eye. The rest of my hair was left straight with the edge being the shortest, gradually increasing in length as it reached the center.

"Are you satisfied with how it looks, Megumin-san?" she asked.

I nodded as I continued to examine myself. "Simple is best," I said, smiling as I touched my braided hair.

"Claire-sama," Reiah said, "I don't believe she'll need much makeup; perhaps a tiny bit of powder, some blush, and a good bit of lipstick."

Claire looked over at me briefly before training her eyes back on Reiah. "Megumin-san is gifted with good skin, so it seems."

I blushed at the compliment.

"Very well, Lady Reiah, go on; work your magic," Claire continued.

Reiah nodded and turned me back towards the mirror.

Another hour passed as she applied the finishing touches; Reiah stood back to examine her work and smiled.

"Absolutely stunning," She said proudly, her hands on her hips. She turned me around for the others to see.

Darkness stared at me with a look of surprise; Claire did also, however, her expression was more reserved. As far as makeup went, there was very little; the most distinguishing part of it all was the crimson lipstick traced over my lips.

"Alright, now for the most important part; dressing you up. Quickly now," she said as she pulled out the pocket watch once more. "Not much time; Lalatina, remember, you, as her Maid of Honor must also be ready; go now, there's less than three hours left."

Darkness looked at me, I nodded.

"Excuse me," She said, giving a brief bow and exiting the room in haste.

"Forgive me, Megumin-san, I know I'm not your first or perhaps even your—"

"You're fine, Claire-san," I said, smiling faintly, "I trust you."

She froze momentarily and then turned away and coughed. "Right, well, um, thank you…Megumin-san; let us be on our way, then."

**_-Wedding Day: Afternoon 12:11PM_**

"Oh man, hey, Kazuma, isn't the wedding like in a couple hours?" Dust said as he peered into his empty mug.

"Huh, wedding?" I said drunkenly. I reached out to the barmaids who were waving as they left. "Whose, whose wedding—you, you're getting married, Dust?!" I laughed as I laid my head on the table.

Dust grabbed the pitcher of alcohol and filled his cup. "No way, man; Kazuma, it's **you**; **you're** getting married, to that lolimage of yours—you know, the one that's friends with Yunyun. What's her name?" Dust sucked his teeth as he tried to remember. "Ah, right, Megumin; Megumin, that one, you're getting married to her."

"Megumin?" I said, trying to recall the person behind the name. "…oh shit!" I yelled, sitting up. "Megumin, that's right, the wedding! W-What time is it?!" I asked, grabbing Dust.

"Hey, take it easy," He said, prying me off him. "Hey, look, I know I brought it up, but don't worry about it too much; I've got an invite, so I'll make sure you're not late."

I rubbed my head as I tried to recall what happened the last few hours, so I asked Dust.

"What happened?" I said, looking around at all the empty plates and mugs on the table.

"Ah, that stuff's not important; all you gotta know is we had a great time," Dust replied, downing his mug as soon as he did.

"Wait, Dust, you're invited?"

"Hm, sure; I'm one of your Groomsmen."

"Huh, really?"

"Wait, how is that a surprise; didn't you choose? Actually, I was surprised I wasn't your Best Man."

"Well…I kinda left it all to…that's besides the point; who else is coming?"

"Uh, hell if I know, dude; kinda weird for you to be asking **me** who's coming to your wedding, no?"

He was right, but I also passed the responsibilities of the wedding off to everyone else.

"I mean, you gotta know **some** of the people coming, right?" I asked.

Dust looked at me from behind his mug with mild surprise; when he put it down, he replied, "I mean all I know is my party is invited; Rin, Taylor, Keith and me."

"And their roles?"

"Dude, really?"

"I'm…look spare me the surprise; I'm completely in the dark here."

Dust laughed. "What, did you guys get into a fight already?"

"I just kind of let her take care of everything."

"Erm, yeah, seems like the smart to do, if I'm being honest—oi, lovely lady can you get me another pitcher?" Dust yelled. "Anyways, as far as I know, me and Keith are Groomsmen…Taylor is just an invite and so is Rin."

"Do you know who's the Best Man?"

Dust laughed loudly. "Dude, you're killing me; how the hell don't you know who's your best man?!"

"Oi, keep it down—look, I already told you I didn't choose anyone or thing for the wedding; most of it is a surprise to me."

"Oh man, even I feel somewhat bad hearing you say something like that."

The barmaid returned with Dust's order and placed another one by me; she smiled suggestively as she left.

"Oh man, Kazuma; you're getting the royal treatment; I gotta hang out with you some more."

"Oi."

"Look," Dust said as he poured some more beer, "I don't know who's your best man; at this point, I'd be surprised if you even have one. Besides, who would it be; I haven't seen you travel or talk to a single dude besides me and Keith…well, as much anyways."

Dust was right; though I would often socialize with everyone in the guild when I was there; I rarely—if ever—made attempts to contact them once I left. I sighed.

"Look," Dust said, putting his cup down briefly, "it might be too late to invite someone, but you **can** choose someone from the invited, right?"

"I, I don't think that's how it works; doesn't the Best Man have some important roles they have to fulfill?"

"Pfft, I don't know." Dust promptly took several gulps of his drink.

"Ugh…whatever; not really one to stick to tradition anyways."

"That's the spirit, Kazuma; damn tradition **and** these rules!" Dust yelled, slamming his mug on the table.

As I heard Dust yell, I thought about how he'd be a great Axis Cultist; the thought itself, leading me to think about Aqua. For the first time in the week I felt like I actually missed her; however, the sentiment left as quickly as it came.

"Hey look, Dust, I'm leaving—"

"Leaving?!" Dust said, sitting up. "Come on, Kazuma, I can't get free—I mean, I can't pass the time without you here."

I stared at him and scratched the back of my head with a sigh. "Dust, I can't show up to my own wedding drunk; even for me that's…"

"Dude, Kazuma, don't worry; just let me handle it, I promise you, I won't let you get drunk. Besides, what're you gonna do now?"

"Dust, I'm already sort of drunk; I need to—"

"You need to relax, my friend," Dust said, sitting me back down. "Look, I don't really like coming to the capital, but I did it for you, Kazuma; that's how cool you are to me. So, do me a favor and just try not to think too much, ok?"

I stared blankly at him.

"You just want me to stay for drinks and food."

"Of-Of course not; I wanna spend time with my—"

"I'm leaving, Dust," I said, getting up.

"C-Come on, Kazuma; oi, didn't you say you'll repay me for helping you during the barrier assault?"

"And what the hell is all this?!" I said, pointing at all the plates and cups strewn across the table.

"That, that was all you."

Once again, I stared blankly.

"I'm leaving, Dust," I said firmly.

He sighed and then sat back down. "Fine, well I guess I'll see ya at the wedding; there'll be more drinks there, right?"

Once I left the guild hall, I traveled back to the palace. If what Dust said was right, I only had a couple hours left to prepare before everything started. What I wanted now was to relax; the best thing for that was the palace bath and as such, was my next destination.

I entered the bathroom. I was here only a few times, but every single time I was overcome with awe at the enormity and sublimity of its construction. I walked into the pool and laid back on the edge, letting out a deep sigh of relief as I did. The drunken feelings I had earlier quickly dissipated, leaving my mind clear; even the feelings of fatigue and mental exhaustion seem to seep from me and into the purifying waters.

_"What a great place,"_ I thought as I sunk lower into the water.

I heard a splash of something surfacing in front of me and opened my eyes. Standing mere feet from me was a tall, naked beauty with blonde hair and large breasts; it was Darkness.

"Ahhh," She said in relief, her eyes closed; afterwards, they opened, and settled on my own.

For a second, the room was silent and only the sounds of running water echoed throughout its cavernous walls. Even as I stared at her, Darkness didn't scream; her mouth slowly shaped itself, preparing to, as she ducked down into the water.

"W-W-Wait, Darkness—"

It was too late; she began to scream. Almost just as instantly, I leapt forward and covered her mouth.

"S-Shut up, you idiot!" I said in a loud whisper as she struggled to break free from under my hand. "Hey, I'm gonna let go, **don't scream**, got it?"

Darkness nodded quickly and I let go. She shot back wailing nervously.

"Oi!"

Her howling quickly turned to soft whimpers.

"What the hell you doing here?" I asked, maintaining the same loud whisper.

"I-I was taking a bath!" She retorted nervously.

"Does, does anyone know you're here?"

"Why?"

"Because if someone were to show up, this'll obviously look bad!"

"Oh no, I'm Megumin's Maid of Honor, too." Darkness sunk even lower into the water.

"Gah, great as if it couldn't get any more complicated; if she finds out you were in the bath with me, she might kill us both."

"Don't even joke like that, Kazuma."

"Who's joking? Listen, one of us is gonna have to leave first and then the other one has wait in here for a while."

"I-I came in first, s-so it's only logical t-that I leave first."

"Fine, and what are you stammering for; I have a bath towel on."

Darkness looked away sharply.

"Tch, this is coming from the girl who said I lacked stones just a day earlier."

"S-Shut up, Kazuma; t-this is different—being in the bath with another man…I honestly don't know Megumin does it." She closed her eyes and nearly completely submerged herself.

"Oi, just hurry and get out; there isn't much time left, don't you have other things to do?"

"I-I can't," She stammered.

"What, what do you mean you can't—fine, I'll—"

"No!" She yelled, rising out of the water; she quickly knelt back down.

"Wha—then hurry up and get out!"

"I'm-I'm-I'm naked!" She squealed.

"Of course you're naked, you idiot; who cares—"

"I do, Kazuma!"

"Oi, keep it down; do you want someone to find us? Listen, Darkness, you gotta make up your mind; the longer we stay in here, the more likely someone is to—"

And on cue, the outer door to the bath opened. Me and Darkness stared at each other and quickly made a dash for the changing rooms.

"That one," I said, pushing her towards the men's.

As soon as we closed the door behind us, I peered out the slats.

"Who is it?" Darkness whispered.

"Shhh." I waved her off. "One sec."

Suddenly, the person came into view.

"Ohhh, not bad; you wouldn't think it, but she has a pretty good-looking body."

"Kazuma!" Darkness shouted in a hushed tone.

"Ah—oh, right; it's Rain."

"Rain?!"

"Umu. Listen, Darkness," I said, turning around to face her.

THWACK! My face crashed against the wall of the room nearly knocking me out cold.

"Who—is someone there?!" Rain shouted, looking towards the changing room.

"What the hell was that for?!" I said, rubbing my face. "Now look what you've done."

"I'm-I'm naked."

"I know—dammit, Darkness, you gotta do something fast, she's gonna find us."

"W-W-What am I supposed to do?!"

"I don't know, get out there and stall her." I pushed Darkness out the door and closed it behind her.

As I knelt back down expecting to see Darkness' backside, I noticed she grabbed a towel.

_"That stupid girl, if she had a towel the whole time, why the hell did she hit me?!"_

"Lalatina-sama, what are…"

"Oh, sorry, Rain-san, I was just…bathing…"

Both of them stared awkwardly at each other for a couple seconds; Rain cleared her throat.

"Lalatina-sama, aren't you supposed to be getting ready; there's hardly any—"

"Yes, Rain-san, you're right; however, I lost my, my—my bathrobe, so—"

"Oh, well you can grab a spare; there should some in the room right behind you. Here, let me get it for you."

As Rain walked up to the door, Darkness jumped in front of her.

"N-No, that's fine, Rain-san; I can get it."

"Huh, are you…" She looked at the door; I retreated some steps from it. "Is everything ok, Lalatina-sama; you seem awfully flushed."

"Oh, you know, the bathwater is quite warm so—"

"Uhuh, right let me just get you—"

Darkness grabbed her arm as she reached for the doorknob. Rain looked at her with surprise.

"S-Sorry," Darkness said, looking down despairingly, "I'll tell you the truth."

_"No, Darkness, what are you doing; you'll kill us both!"_

Darkness leaned in and whispered something in Rain's ear; Rain shot back in shock. She stared at Darkness, placing her hands over her mouth in astonishment.

"Lalatina-sama…" Rain's face grew a vibrant red.

"S-So, you see…"

Rain coughed loudly. "F-Forgive me—I shouldn't have…my goodness…Lalatina-sama, should you really be doing such things with such little time though?"

_"Oi, Darkness what the hell did you tell her?"_

"I-I know, I-I just need like five more minutes though and—"

"Goodness, ok!" Rain shook her head in disbelief. "S-Should I come back in—"

"Yes, five minutes, please—t-thank you, Rain-san!"

Rain quickly ran out of the room. After we heard the doors shut, Darkness opened the changing room door.

"What the hell did you tell—"

She grabbed by my neck and pressed me against the wall. "Because of you now Rain-san thinks I'm sort of pervert!"

I tapped wildly on her arm; after several seconds she let go. I gasped as I drew breath. "You, you **are** pervert though," I said through my breaths.

"You…"

I held up my arm. "Look, is this really the time; we need to get out of here before she comes back."

"Right, I'll go—"

"No, we have to go together; there's no more time."

"Together, but what if someone catches us when we—"

"We're just gonna have to hope it doesn't happen."

"B-But that's reckless."

"It's a risk—and a gamble; it's the one thing I can bank on."

"Tch, fine, Kazuma; let's hurry."

Luckily for us, the gamble paid off and we made it safely back to our rooms.

**_-Wedding Day: Afternoon, 2:39PM_**

Claire stood back and stared at me; she was looking for last-minute issues. After a moment, she sighed and nodded.

"Everything looks fine," she said. "Megumin-san, this is where we part ways; Lalatina should be—"

Just then Darkness burst through the door; she was wearing a tight black dress with matching heels and her hair was curled up (as she usually done for fancy occasions); needless to say, Darkness looked amazing.

"S-Sorry," She said through her panting.

Claire frowned at her briefly, and then turned back to me. "Lalatina will take it from here." She turned to leave.

"Claire!" I yelled.

She stopped and looked back. "Yes?"

"You'll be there…right?"

Again, Claire's face showed surprise; it quickly turned to one of mild timidity as she looked away. "Of-Of course." She cleared her throat. "Iris-sama will be in attendance, so of course I'll be there." She gave Darkness a stern look, and then left.

Darkness was smiling as she turned to look at me. "Megumin…you look beautiful."

**Part 4**

In addition to what I was shown to wear, I also wore a long-sleeved black glove on my right and—per request—was given a small black dress cane with a ruby at the top.

"What's, why do you have a cane?"

"Huh, oh. I asked for one since I couldn't keep my staff; does it, does it look bad?"

Darkness shook her head but gave a half-way smirk, half-way smile. "Dress canes are usually used by men though."

"Ah—"

"But it looks good on you—no, really, it does; I think you should use it."

"Eh, but now that you told me something like that…"

"I feel you break tradition anyways, Megumin; I think you're the first Crimson Demon to ascend to noble status."

I closed my eyes and smiled proudly, gripping the cane tightly. "Ah, I'm forging new paths for our village, aren't I? First, Master of Explosions and now, first noble. However, it won't stop there; my legend has just begun, Darkness."

"I'm sure. Now come, we'd best get going before we're late."

"Umu."

As we walked through the halls, we eventually met up with the Bride's Maids; included within this group was Arue, Soketto, Funifura, Dodonko, Nerimaki, and of course, Yunyun. Originally, I chose her to be my Maid of Honor, however, she declined, saying, "Darkness would be a better choice since she's been with me the whole step of the way" adding, she's also a noble, and would know how to better navigate the whole aspect of interactions between them. She wasn't wrong, but Yunyun was truly a friend like no other, and I felt bad simply relegating her to merely just **another** one.

"Ohhh?" Arue said, crossing her arm and placing a hand to her chin. "Megumin, quite the fashionista you are, aren't you?"

I smiled. "Not looking half-bad yourself, Arue."

As per instruction, they all wore black dresses and heels.

"Of course, Crimson Demons must always look the best, no matter the occasion."

"Humph, I expected no less from you, Arue; **truly**, it was no mistake inviting you."

Funifura interjected. "Fufufu, I'd argue that Arue—and most definitely Soketto would likely steal the show from you."

"Ah, Funifura, I almost forgot you were part of the group; at first, I was gonna merely invite you, but I felt kind of bad if you were the only one of our school mates **not** in the group so…"

"Tch." She appeared as if she was going to say something in response, however, she grit her teeth and turned away.

"Megumin!" Yunyun yelled. "You look beautiful; I'm so happy!"

"Huh, who are you again?"

Yunyun staggered back with tears in her eyes.

"Megumin, stop joking around; we don't have time," Darkness said.

"Oh, right; everybody, let's go."

**_-Wedding Day: Afternoon, 2:56PM_**

I stood at the altar, waiting; even though I felt nothing a few hours ago, I was now, extremely nervous. The officiant to the wedding was nonother than Archpriest Levitz; he glanced over at me and smiled.

"Try not to be too worried, Satou-dono; just think of her and your duties to each other."

Though he tried to encourage me, it had the opposite effect. The problem wasn't really me fumbling on what to say, rather, it was the entirety of the situation; once again, I was reminded that I was getting married…**I** was getting married; this fact is what was causing me great distress.

The Archpriest leaned over and whispered, "Satou-dono, where is your right hand?"

"Ah"—I looked down despondently—"good question."

Just then, Iris appeared with Claire chasing after her. Claire's face was wrought with nervousness and disbelief; she appeared to be whispering something to Iris.

"Sorry I'm late, Onii-sama."

"I, Iris-chan, what are—"

"I'm your right hand."

"What?" Both me and the Priest said at the same time.

Claire stepped forward. "Iris-sama, you can't—Kazuma-dono, please I beg you, convince her that this—"

"It's fine, right, Onii-sama?"

I stared at her and then at Claire; though, honestly, I didn't really care what Claire thought.

"Ah, sure; I mean, if it's coming from the Princess, who am I to reject it?"

Claire looked at me with fuming eyes. She turned her attention to Iris once more. "Iris-sama, please, reconsider; this is—"

"It's fine, Claire-chan. Besides, who else is more fit to talk about Onii-sama than myself; he's shared with me all his stories and adventures. It is my honor to stand by Onii-sama's side on this most joyous occasion."

Claire grit her teeth and looked away. "This is preposterous," She grumbled.

"Claire-chan, please, take your seat," Iris said.

Soon, the massive cathedral was filled with people; Crimson Demons, nobles, adventurers, all mixed together. The procession started with the Bride's Maids coming in with Groomsmen; followed by the Maid of Honor, Darkness; a young Crimson Demon boy, who was the Ring Bearer; the Flower girl, Komekko; and then, finally—with her parents on her sides—the Bride, Megumin.

I stared in awe; she was…extraordinary. I never in my wildest imagination thought of Megumin like this; she looked nothing like the little chunni brat I tagged along with for so long. No, this Megumin looked majestic, almost regal in her expression and design…and it made my heart flutter and my chest tighten with every second my eyes remained on her. _"This is Megumin,"_ I thought. _"This was my bride."_.

As she took her place by my side, she glanced over at me and then at Iris; Iris gave undiscernible nod. Megumin's parents nodded, and then took their seats.

"Friends, family, compatriots, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of two individuals, two souls to become one; Kazuma and his bride, Megumin. Under the watchful and fortuitous eyes of the Goddess Eris, may she bless these two with everlasting fortune, that their days may be filled with happiness and prosperity. I now ask, do the parents of the bride consent to this marriage; that their daughter be given away to start a family of her own in the House of Satou?"

Hyoizaburo and Yuiyui rose and then both said in unison, "We do."

"Very well, I ask now that the bride and groom face each other."

I gulped and quickly tried to calm myself as I turned towards her. When I did, Megumin stared at me without a hint of nervousness in her eyes and face; truly…who was this girl?

"Let us take this moment now to remind ourselves what drives us together, what makes us who we are, and what this occasion truly means. That this marriage is done in consent by both parties. And so, I ask you, Kazuma, will you cherish Megumin as your lawful wedded wife, protecting her, and tending to her needs, be it in illness and disappointment?"

I thought back to all times I've taken care of her in those very circumstances, despite the disappointments and hardships it brought me; I smirked at thought, was that what it meant to be married? "Umu…I will."

Levitz nodded, and then continued, "Will you strive to understand her, giving her comfort when she seeks it from you? Will you try never to say in anger that which you wouldn't say in friendship? And when each night comes, will you go to sleep with thanks for her presence at your side and renewed love for her in your heart?"

This one was little tougher, but ultimately, I felt like I've always done this too—perhaps not as much as I maybe should've but…

"Umu…I will."

Levitz then turned to Megumin.

"And will you, Megumin, cherish—"

"I do," She said without hesitation.

The priest—slightly surprised by her brevity—gave a slight cough.

"Very well, and will you strive to understand him, giving him comfort when he seeks it from you? Will you try never to say in anger that which you wouldn't say in friendship? And when each night comes, will you go to sleep with thanks for his presence at your side and renewed love for his in your heart?"

"Always."

"Now we come to the vows; promises made under the watchful eyes of our goddess and those present. What solemn wish do you have for each other, that under pain of everlasting misfortune you will never break?"

I stared at Megumin and thought hard. Perhaps she already knew what she wanted to vow to me, but I did practically nothing for the wedding, including my own vows.

"I…I…" I could feel the stares of everyone around us piercing me; however, Megumin's gaze never changed. She looked back at me with complete trust in her eyes; as if my actions and will were infallible. "I-I promise—"

"Kazuma," She said with a gentle smile.

"…I promise to help you become the Master of Explosions and to never leave your side; to hell and back, Megumin, I want you by my side," I said resolutely; I squeezed her hands gently.

She smiled once more. "Then I promise you, I will become a legend worthy to be part of your own; that no matter the circumstances, I will never betray you and look to you forever as my guide, my inspiration, my friend, my lover, my…leader."

I couldn't help but smile; she had such way with words, this little mage.

"May we present the rings," Levitz announced.

The little boy walked over and raised the cushion the rings were placed upon.

"Oi, who's that?" I whispered to Megumin.

"Funifura's little brother," She replied in an equally hushed tone.

The priest cleared his throat.

"Ah, right," I said, taking the ring.

As I did, I noticed there was a small note under them; I picked it up and read it.

"Of a green stem and crimson petals, does a rose make; when two souls become one, this bond of metal shall truly bloom; Hearts and mind as one…_geez, didn't take that smith to be such a poet too._"

I placed the note down and took Megumin's hand. I stared it for a second, and then at her. I slid the ring onto her finger. The next second, the ring burst to life as it did before; the red essence flowing out and coiling gently around, blossoming into small ethereal roses.

Megumin took the other ring and staring at me, did the same. The ring went through the same motions except a green essence flowed from it wrapping itself into thorny vines; at first, I was afraid it would hurt me, however, after several seconds of observing, it didn't.

"Let us take a moment now to remember that though this marriage lawfully joins you together; it is your hearts and bonds that keep you together. Remember that even though you are now of one mind and soul, you are still your own persons. Take heart to not disregard your necessities to one another and to be mindful of the occasions when there are none.

"Though the times you may have done so have been countless, today is one for the books; that all in attendance shall remember and that you two shall sear into your hearts. With the blessings of the Goddess Eris and the power invested within me from the royal line, I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Both of us stared at each other; time seemed to come to a crawl as I did. The noise around me dulled to near quietness and those around me seemed to faze from existence. I only saw her, heard the pounding of my heart. Though we've kissed on multiple occasions, this was…different; it felt like the first time. I was nervous, but I had to be the one to do it since Megumin was shorter than me.

As I went to lean in, she swiftly threw her arms around my neck and—standing on the tips of her toes—kissed me deeply. I was shocked from the abruptness of it, but after a couple seconds I slowly leaned back; she gradually let go and settled back with a smile on her face.

_"Geez, this girl, why'd she have to so assertive; couldn't she act at least a bit more timid…she's making look bad."_

"Family, friends, compatriots, it is my pleasure and honor to announce Kazuma and Megumin of House Satou."

The cathedral burst into cheers and claps reminiscent to the award ceremony. I let out a breath of relief…the hard part was now over.

**_-Wedding Day: Evening, 7:42PM_**

It was already several hours since the procession, and the party was in full swing; speeches were made in honor of us and toasts made to our newly established house. Though there were many nobles present (I assume on part of both, Iris and Darkness' efforts) none seemed to cause any issues. Many, in fact, came and offered me a dance; however, I obviously turned them down. After the speeches were done, both me and Kazuma took up duties playing host and hostess; it was something I was somewhat receptive to (reminded me a lot of taking orders at restaurants) but incredibly exhausting. After a while, I broke away from the party and walked out to the veranda. There, I saw Iris, who turned her head towards me briefly, before staring back out at the scenery of the looming night.

"Are you enjoying everything, Megumin-nee?" She said as I approached her.

"Umu," I replied, bowing deeply.

She raised a brow. "What's on your mind?"

I walked over next to her and leaned on the railing. "You never got to answer the question I gave you."

She seemed to wrack her brain for a moment. "Ah, the why, right? Why do this?"

I stared at her, waiting for a response.

"I wonder that myself…"

"It was on a whim?"

She looked at me and smiled.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"…there are some things better left unsaid, Megumin-nee."

"Is this a plot, are you—"

"I assure you…it's nothing you wouldn't agree to."

I frowned in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled again and looked back out towards the sunset. "Worry not; after all, we **are** friends, right?" She mentioned, glancing out the corner of her eye.

The way she said it made my hairs stand on end. "Of, Of course," I replied somewhat hesitantly; I was still trying to piece together her intentions.

"Enjoy your wedding, Megumin-nee," She said, walking back into the banquet hall.

I closed my eyes and sighed.

"There you are." It was a voice immediately apparent to me.

"Kazuma," I said, turning towards him.

"Was wondering where you ran off to." He walked over and leaned on the railing with me. "Can't say I blame you though; this stuff isn't really the norm for us, right?"

"Umu." I let my head lay on his shoulder.

Silence permeated the air as we stared out at the scenery; I felt it was a scene right out of the romance novels Aqua lent me…_ "Aqua, how I wish you were here."_

"Kazuma," I said.

"Yeah?"

"Did you really mean that?"

"What?"

"Your vow?"

"…I wouldn't say it, if I didn't."

"…you almost didn't."

"Yeah…I was stunned by how you look; I felt like I almost fell in love with another girl."

I looked at him. "So…"

He looked back at me and sighed. "Don't ask obvious questions, Megumin."

I stepped back and gazed at him. "But I wanna hear you say it."

Kazuma closed his eyes and looked away.

Even after this, he still couldn't say it; it pained me more than it should've.

"Why—" I caught myself and held my tongue. I felt a pain in my chest and could feel myself wanting to cry, but I held it back. I swallowed deeply and took a deep breath. "I'll, I'll see you later." I began walking inside.

Kazuma grabbed my arm. "Megumin…"

I didn't look at him. "What?" I said, someway between coldness and dejection.

"I made you that promise; do you understand me?"

I looked at him. I could feel my heart soften and my tension ease. I nodded weakly. "…I feel like I'm the only one though." My eyes quickly shifted away from his, my body soon followed; I returned inside.

I walked over and sat by my mother and father. Komekko, who was with them as well, tore happily at the plate of food in front of her.

"Ah, my daughter," my father said, putting his hand on my shoulder, "I'm the proudest father in existence; not only did you grow up to be the genius of our village, but you also defeated several generals of the Demon King, destroyed the barrier, assaulted his castle, and even became renown as a hero; to top it all off, now you're part of a noble house with lots of money."

"Umu," I said with a simple nod.

"What wrong dear?" My mother queried. "Did you get into a fight with Kazuma?"

I said nothing, but my sullen eyes betrayed me. She hugged me and smiled.

"I remember when me and your father got married; I used to think we would be rich with his expertise in potion-making. When he brought back his first batch, I forgave him; after the hundredth however…"

My father coughed. "T-There's nothing wrong with my potions, love."

She sighed. "At this point I've just accepted that. Anyways, Megumin, don't worry about it too much; fights happen, but after all you guys been through, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Oka-san…Oto-san."

After a while, I got up and headed over to the snack table with Komekko.

"Megumin." I turned to look; it was Darkness. "Everything ok?"

I nodded.

She stared at me worriedly and then smiled. "Kazuma did something dumb again, didn't he?"

I looked away.

She sighed deeply. "If Aqua were here, she'd probably say, 'what'd you expect it to be, plums and roses?'"

"I know, I know Kazuma is…still…"

"You love him, that much is apparent." She sighed once more. "You of all people he always pulls through at the end though. So, if you're worried about something he's done…or hasn't, give him time; I'm sure he'll come around."

I smiled faintly and clutched at my chest. "Thank you, Darkness; you don't know how much that means to me."

She smiled back. "Of course, now more than ever, I'm your support."

"Megumin!" I instantly recognized that voice to belong to the loner, Yunyun; however, I ignored it. "Megumin!" she yelled again, running over to me. "Hey."

"Huh, who are you; are you part of the guests?"

She pouted. "Can you stop already; you definitely know who I am!"

"Ah, I don't know; I do know this girl who looks strikingly similar to you; her name's Yunyun, but she also has no friends to call her own so—"

"H-How could you say that with a straight face?!"

I smirked. "Thanks for coming, Yunyun." I hugged her.

She froze in shock. "M-Megumin, a-are you alright?"

"Umu, I'm ok, thanks to you."

Yunyun's face quickly turned red at my comment. "C-Can you stop teasing—"

"I'm serious, Yunyun."

Again, she stared at me in bewilderment. She lowered her head in timidity and twiddled her fingers.

"Anyways, are **you** guys ok; if anything is wrong, let me know. I haven't used Explosion today so—"

"No, no, I think everything's fine," Yunyun replied nervously.

"Yeah, the last thing we need you is blowing up a section of the palace," Darkness added.

Arue walked over. "Hey, Megumin, I think you need to look at Komekko."

"Huh—what?" As I turned around, half the food on table was already gone; with Komekko seemingly not slowing down. "K-Komekko, stop!" I yelled, trying to catch her.

Several minutes, a bunch of help, and a full table later, Komekko was finally caught.

"Komekko, what has your onee-chan told you about eating too much?" My mother said, reprimanding her.

"Sorry, Nee-chan; Komekko was hungry," She replied in a disheartened tone.

I pet Komekko's head and hugged her. "Don't worry, Komekko, your onee-chan will make sure you're never hungry again, ok?"

She nodded and hugged me back.

After asking my mother to keep an eye on Komekko, I walked away and sat on one of the free benches throughout the banquet hall.

"Eh, little Megumin is finally grown up." It was the other NEET in my life, Bukkorori. "To think you'd get with Kazuma; kinda feel bad for the guy." He smirked.

"Hey, Bukkorori, how's everything with Soketto going; did anything change after the battle?"

"Ah…well"—he cleared his throat—"I distinguished myself in the battle of course but Soketto…wasn't around…so…"

"I see…I suppose there'll be other opportunities."

"Huh, aren't you gonna say something snarky?"

I smiled faintly. "I've grown up, haven't I?"

He gave a short chuckle. "Umu…gotta say, I'm gonna miss the annoying little girl of the village."

"You don't have to worry…I'm sure she isn't going anywhere."

He smiled. "See ya around, Megumin; try not to annoy Kazuma too much."

I looked around; I could see everyone in attendance was genuinely enjoying themselves. I smiled. There were few things I wanted in life; my goals were simple. But to live through something like this, it was a happiness I thought I never needed, and I was glad to have experienced it. I clutched at my chest and began to cry; this all felt unreal, like a dream and I was afraid it was—and indeed, if it was…I never wanted to wake from it.

_"Thank you all—all of you, for being part of my dreams…"_

**_-Wedding Day: Night, 10:24PM_**

It was finally over, everything we prepared for; it was done, completed. I carried a sleeping Megumin on my back as I've done so many times before. Though I could've stayed, I wanted to get back; I wanted to rest in my own bed, in my own house. I was tired—we all were; Megumin, as I said, was sleeping deeply, and Darkness was barely awake (due in part to slight inebriation). We bid everyone farewell nearly half an hour ago and were teleported by Rain back to Axel.

When we reached the mansion, Darkness stumbled back to her room. I quickly went upstairs and dropped Megumin on my bed; although I wanted to take her back to her own room, I simply didn't have enough stamina to do so. In fact, I was so tired I didn't even get out of my suit; obviously, this meant Megumin also stayed in her wedding dress. As I laid down to sleep, Megumin woke up.

"Kazuma?" She said wearily.

"Umu, you're awake now?"

She quickly sat up and looked around, startling me.

"Oi, what's—"

She grabbed me in a panic. "Did it happen—was it a dream?!" She yelled.

"Oi, calm down, what's wrong?"

"Did we…" She stared at me and smiled; tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged me tightly. "It wasn't," She said as she cried.

"Ah, yeah, it wasn't." I hesitantly hugged her and sighed. _"She thought the wedding was a dream?"_ As I lay hugging her, I could feel myself relax. "Hey, Megumin," I said.

"Hmm?"

"I'm tired; can we go to sleep?"

"Uh…sure."

She pulled away and turned her back to me. After an awkward stillness filled the air, she curled up. Though I didn't look at her I could tell she was feeling discomfort. Without saying anything, I dangled a chain in front of her; at the end of it was a ring-shaped item.

"What's…this?" She said, sitting up slowly and staring at it.

"I…didn't really know…what to get you, so…I kinda made it."

She held the chain up to the moonlight and squinted.

"Tinder." I illuminated it for her.

She gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. "Kazuma…is this?"

"Umu…it's the amulet you made; I turned into a ring—I know it isn't—"

She leapt into my chest and hugged me tightly once more; my shirt (and consequently, chest) quickly growing wet with tears.

After a few minutes, she pulled away and said, "I love it." She quickly removed the chain and slid the ring onto her left middle finger. "Thank you, Kazu—"

"I love you."

She froze, her eyes were the brightest shade of red I've ever seen. Even as seconds passed into minutes, she remained frozen and silent. After a few more minutes, she dropped her head and pulled her knees up to her face.

"Hey, Kazuma," she said, "right now, I love you more than explosions; so, don't take advantage of me, 'kay?"

I smiled and pet her head. "Umu, I won't; cause right now…I actually love you. So…don't let me down…okay?"

She looked up, tears streaming from her face, lips quivering. "Sure thing…leader."

**_-Next morning_**

The following morning, the day after the wedding, it rained heavily. Although we didn't really plan on going anywhere, the rain forced us to stay in; in response, we all took the opportunity to relax. I lounged on the couch playing with Chomusuke while Megumin was in the kitchen prepping breakfast for all of us. Darkness sat on the armchair reading the news and drinking tea.

**Part 5**

"Pretty much the same stuff," She said, placing the newspaper down.

"More of 'Demon King slayed; peace attained'?" I said.

"Umu." She laid back and sighed. "Goodness…I don't wanna go through another wedding for a long time; I don't think I've ever felt this tired."

"Agreed," Megumin said, coming out with plates of food. "I much prefer adventuring."

"I actually prefer this," I countered. "I'm filthy rich so that means we don't have to go adventuring for a while."

"Kazuma, don't forget the whole reason you're still here," Darkness retorted.

"Yeah, yeah…doesn't mean I have to get on it right away—besides, we're missing our healer so there's no adventuring until we can get her back."

"Speaking of, it's been over a week already; aren't you—"

There was a knock on the door; we all stared at it, then the girls, at me.

"Don't look at me; Megumin, go get it."

"Hey, why don't you—"

"Cause I'm the Lord of this house and I don't wanna get up."

"Well, I'm the Matriarch; Darkness, you get it."

"Wha—I'm, I just live here."

The front door burst open and a blue-haired goddess stormed through it.

"Doesn't anyone know how to answer a door?!"

"Aqua!" Darkness and Megumin exclaimed; they both ran to her and hugged her.

"Ah, ok, ok, mmm, praise me more, mhm." Aqua beamed in happiness as both Megumin and Darkness showed her much affection.

"Oi, great, now we have another mouth to feed; and one that's exclusively a drain on resources."

"Hey, is that how you talk to a full-fledged goddess, boy!"

"Tch, did you have fun on your vacation, oh glorious goddess of worthlessness?"

Aqua pushed Megumin and Darkness away and marched up to me. "I'll bless you with a bit of luck if get down from the couch and grovel for forgiveness."

"What kind of stupid incentive is that; as if you even have luck to spare—and even if you did, why the hell would I need it; I'm the luckiest man there is—especially when you're not involved!"

Aqua gasped. "You take that back!"

"Even if I did, the truth's the truth; listen, I was doing fine without ya here, so, why don't you go take a couple more weeks off."

Aqua looked completely stunned and marginally hurt by my remark.

"You!" She stuck out a rolled-up parchment and looked away with small tears in her eyes.

"Oi, what's this; is it more trouble—I don't want it."

"It's from Ambrosia oba-sama!"

I raised a brow and sat up with a sigh. "What's it say?"

"As if I know; she told me to give it to you."

"So, you **didn't** read it?"

"She said it was for you!"

"Really…"

"Of course not! Ambrosia oba-sama told me to give it to you and have **you** read it!"

_"Hmm, seems like Aqua is really obedient whenever it comes to Ambrosia-sama." _I sighed and grabbed the roll from her hands.

Everyone gathered around me as I unfurled the paper.

"First of all, congratulations on your marriage, Kazuma-kun—"

"Marriage?" Aqua said. "Who got—Kazuma?!" She grabbed me. "Y-You got married?!"

"Umu, me and Megumin did."

I never seen Aqua in as much shock as she presented now; not even when I chose her as my "blessing". She was frozen solid and unresponsive to any and all things Megumin and Darkness did to get her attention.

"Oi, just leave her alone for now; she'll get over it. Let me finish reading this—"

"Megumin!" she yelled startling all of us. "It-It's ok, I'm a goddess, I can just annul—"

"Aqua, it's ok," Megumin said, trying to calm her down. "Actually, there's a lot of things that sort of happened while you were gone."

Aqua looked around frantically. "W-What did I miss; what else happened—a-are you pregnant, Megumin—Darkness?!"

"Oi! Would you quit it with the nonsense?! Let me finish this letter; we can bring you up to speed afterwards…tch."

I continued.

"…congratulations on your marriage, Kazuma-kun. I wish you and Megumin-chan the best. There are several things I want to bring to your attention. First is regarding the Mark of Proof you obtained from the Demon King. I've sent back Aqua-chan and reinstated her full powers as a goddess; there are many boons to this, however, the most important one for you to know is she'll be able to unlock the true purpose behind that item."

I dug in my pocket and pulled out the Mark, glancing at it briefly before going back to reading.

"Given to the Demon Kings by our kind it was originally led to serve as a physical promise to maintain the Great Plan; however, the truth is the Mark of Proof is an item meant to be used in aid against the Demon Kings and the demons themselves. Upon giving it a god's blessing, it'll activate its true purpose. Aqua-chan I implore you, aid Kazuma-kun on his journey; this is your purpose and my task I give to you.

"Place your hand on the Mark and say these lines, "unto you, my greatest foe, shall I send God's calling; his vengeance swift and merciless. Your pillars of strength shall become your greatest weakness, inscribed upon this false promise". Afterwards, you'll obtain a new power; one vital to the success of your journey. Be aware, this power only applies to you and your kind, summoned heroes; for you are our heralds_—yeah, right, more like tributes._

"The Second thing I wanted to tell you is regarding the Demon Kings and the other seals. Kazuma-kun, if you wish to fulfill your objective, you **MUST** under no circumstances, kill any of the Demon Kings; obtain their marks and make their power your own. I don't think I have to tell you, but should you fail at this, you **WILL** become the next Demon King and this task is over.

I gulped.

"With each King defeated, the seal grows weaker; for now the destruction of the first seal has little effect on the overall strength—even the subsequent destruction of another might not have any truly devastating changes occur; however, after this, time is of the essence, the Demon 'god' is simply in slumber and with the then waning strength of the seal, it will begin to wake.

"This leads me to my final point; The Demon 'god'. Kazuma-kun, this is an evil entity, there is no good in the creature's being; you won't be able to negotiate, you won't be able placate, and you won't be able to find a work around; **KILL** it, it **MUST** die, and you **MUST NOT** fail. If this is too much for you, before you embark on this quest, have Aqua-chan return you to Heaven; I will send you back and leave things as they once were. Kazuma-kun, on this quest, there are no half-measures; see it through, or don't. With much love, Ambrosia."

I lowered the paper and rolled it back up. Truly, it was a heavy request and just reading it stressed me the hell out. I sat down and sighed, staring at the Mark in my hand. Aqua instantly grabbed and recited the chant.

"Anything?" She said.

I looked at myself but felt or saw no discernable difference.

"Really? I'm sure I said it correctly; here hold it, let me see the paper."

I grabbed the Mark and immediately felt a surge of holy energy course through me. Aqua and the others stood back as the light engulfed me; seconds later it subsided.

"Kazuma!" Megumin yelled.

"I'm ok…I think," I said, looking at myself.

"Well?" Aqua said. "You feel anything?"

"Not—wait a second." For some reason I had a feeling to check my adventurer's card.

Upon it, a new tab opened up with a blank inscription. I also noticed I now had 20 skill points available despite still being level 30. Aside from this, I noticed I had another entry saying, "Multiclass System Unlocked".

_"Multiclass system…"_

I clicked on the empty tab, prompting a list of classes to pop up.

"Woah, this is amazing!" I yelled.

"Huh, what's wrong—what happened?" Aqua said.

All of them moved behind the couch to look.

"Wha, what is this?" Megumin stammered.

"I can choose another class…"

"Does that mean you'll finally be something other than Adventurer?" Aqua said half-mockingly.

"No, you idiot, I think I can choose another class on top of the one I currently have."

"What are you going to choose?" Darkness said.

"Let me see." I began scrolling through the list. _"Mage, Merchant, Cook, Smith, Archer, Thief, Priest…_seems like none of these are advanced classes; my stats are also still pretty average."

Aqua laughed. "Fufufu, even with a divine upgrade, Kazuma, you're still a loser!"

"Hmm, maybe I should spec into Priest and make you even more useless than you already are; yeah, you know that's actually—"

"Kazuma-san, I was just joking; you're"—I began scrolling over to Priest—"Ka-Kazuma, what are you"—I clicked on the class, prompting a confirmation screen; Aqua grabbed my arm—"Kazuma—I was just joking, please—what are you"—I struggled against her grip—"Ka, Kazuma, Kazuuummma, please—I'm sorry, I was just joking! I was just—Kazumma!"

I snatched my arm away as Aqua bawled out.

"Tch, just got back and already being such a pain." I canceled the prompt. "There's no rush," I said, putting away my adventurer's card. "I'll raise my stats and see if I can spec into something better down the line."

"Actually, Kazuma," Megumin began, "if that works how I think it works, wouldn't having another class also incur the bonuses of said class?"

"Huh, whaddaya—"

Then it occurred to me; if I had another class on top of adventurer, and then gained a level, would I gain skill points and stats relevant to both classes? I sat up and started to ponder it more deeply. The flaw in the Adventurer's class was the low income of skill points; though it allowed me to learn skills from other classes, at a measly 1 skill point per level, it would take an insane amount of effort to gain anything useful from it.

So, say for instance, I specialized into mage which granted 3 skill points per level, would that now mean I would gain 4 skill points every level up.

_"Wait a minute. Going by this trend, if I got the other Marks and they expanded on this system, would I have access to five different classes at the end of all this?! THAT'S OP!"_

I sat back on the couch and rubbed my chin. "Oi, Megumin, you have a point; problem is, I don't know what I wanna spec into at the moment."

"Well, there's no rush," Megumin replied, "after all we're not taking any quests for a bit, right?"

We all stared at her.

"Hey, Megumin, are you ok?" Aqua said, checking her for a fever.

"Wha, I'm fine," She said, frowning.

"Ah, it's just you're usually the first one to agree on going adventuring," Darkness pointed out.

She looked away. "I just figured since we're all back together, we should spend some time…"

"Umu," I said, nodding. "Not a bad idea; besides, once we start to work at this seriously, we'll have even less time to rest."

The others looked at each other and nodded.

"First," I yelled, "is the very important matter—that I still haven't forgotten about—of hiring a beautiful maid."

"Wait!" Aqua yelled. "You still have to tell me what happened while I was gone. You two got married—whose idea was that?!"

Me and Megumin exchanged looks and then replied simultaneously, "Iris."

"Huh, the princess?!"

"Umu," Darkness affirmed. "By the way, Aqua, you're also a noble now, and so are Kazuma and Megumin."

Aqua stared in total surprise at us.

"Umu," I continued. "She also named you High Priestess of the Axis Church—if that means anything to you."

Aqua was stunned. "What…how…who…but—why…" She grabbed her head in despair.

"It's alright, Aqua," Megumin said, placing her hand on Aqua's shoulder. "Try not to think about it too much."

After some silence, Aqua spoke once more. "Are we, are we lower nobles…"

Darkness and Megumin looked at each other; Darkness then answered. "Actually, the House carries as much authority, if not, greater authority than my own."

She froze. A second later she grabbed Darkness. "D-Does that mean we get to boss other people around—tell them what to do?!"

_"Ah, wait…this was probably a bad thing to tell Aqua; knowing her she'll probably—no, she definitely use that authority to her advantage…_Oi," I interrupted, "whatever you've got in mind, forget it; I **just** obtained some semblance of a peaceful life—I DON'T NEED YOU MESSING IT UP!"

"Kazuma," Aqua said, flicking her hair, "this is perfect, I can just use the authority to make people con—"

"Oi," I said, grabbing her by her raiment, "if you even think about doing something so stupid I'll make sure to sell every damn bottle of expensive alcohol you've ever gotten, and give those stupid shells you've been hoarding as complimentary gifts!"

"Waaahh, Kazuma! You monster, you, you wouldn't do such a thing!"

I shoved her away. "Anyways, if I ever hear of you doing something so dumb, I'm gonna disown you, got it?!"

Aqua crossed her arms and looked away with a pout.

"Now, about that important matter—"

"We should probably discuss it while we're eating," Megumin interjected.

We all looked at the plates of food; they've been sitting out in the open for several minutes now.

"Eh, but it's probably cold now—"

"And there's only three plates, Megumin," Aqua mentioned.

"Ah, sorry, Aqua; I wasn't expecting you to…arrive." Megumin looked down glumly.

Aqua placed her hands on her hips and smiled. She walked over and hugged Megumin. "There, there, Megumin; I know you're the only one in this group who's actually missed me."

Darkness spoke. "I-I mean, I also—"

"Shut up, Darkness; you're a dirty Eris Cultist!"

"Kyuu!" Darkness yelped in pleasure.

I sighed, placing a palm on my head. "Let's just sit down and eat."

After reheating the food (and bringing out an extra plate), we began recounting the events of what transpired, to Aqua, whilst she was gone.

"So, let me get this straight," she said, "you actually agreed to marry this NEET?"

"Aqua, it really shouldn't come as a surprise to you; I already told you how I feel about, Kazuma."

Aqua looked at me disapprovingly, and then smiled. "PedoNEET; you know if this was Japan, you'd be sitting in a jail cell." She laughed.

"Oi!" Embarrassingly, I couldn't really counter her statement. "It-It's not like…whatever—that's irrelevant. What's more important is—"

"By the way, Megumin, do you still have the dress; I wanna see it."

"Oi."

"Umu, it's in my dresser."

"Oi!"

"*Sigh* How I wish I was—"

"OI, I'm talking here!"

They both looked at me; Megumin curiously, Aqua disparagingly.

"The maid," I said, calming down, "we still need to hire one."

Darkness spoke. "Kazuma, I can look into it if you'd like."

"Oh, can you, Darkness? Make sure she's beautiful—and submissive and respectful and—"

Darkness sighed. "I think I got it, Kazuma; worry not, the Dustiness family has attracted a lot of good servants throughout the years; I'm sure I'll find one who's good for the job."

"Somehow, I feel I can take you at your word, Darkness…unlike these two."

Both, Megumin and Aqua stared at me in disbelief; Aqua with slightly more contempt.

"How can't you take **me** at my word?" Megumin shouted, standing up in anger.

I stared at her momentarily before turning back to Darkness. "Anyways, Darkness, how long is it gonna take?"

I could slightly hear Megumin yelling at me in the background, though I tuned her out pretty good.

"Hmm, since I'll have to get a list of available applicants, run their performance…hmmm…I figure it might be a week or so."

"Hm, a week; alright." I turned to Aqua, Megumin's incessant screaming becoming clear.

"Hey, Kazuma, I'm speaking to you—are you listening to me?!"

"Aqua, you're on double-duty until the new maid comes."

Aqua shot up. "Wha—Why?!"

"Cause you haven't been here for an entire week!"

She scoffed. "How, how is that **my** fault; I was spending time with oba-sama—you can't fault me for that!"

"Tch, aren't you entitled; you're doing it or—"

Megumin pressed her staff to my face. "Stop ignoring me, Kazuma!"

I slapped it away. "Oi, if you don't want me to drain you, THEN SHUT UP!"

"As-As if-if I see that as a threat anymore!" She said, quickly distancing herself from me.

"Oh?" I said, getting up slowly. "Someone thinks because I have feelings for her, I won't do anything."

Megumin gulped as she got into a defensive stance. "K-Kazuma, you know, that's…that's domestic—"

"BIND!"

Megumin fell like a log. I slowly approached her.

"No—Kazuma, I'm sorry, please don't drain me—I haven't used Explosion today—Please, Kazuma!"

I drained her.

"Ahhhh, no…you demon," She whimpered.

"That'll teach you to know who runs this house!" I yelled, turning to all of them.

Darkness stared at me excitedly. "K-Kazuma, you're turning more and more into the brute of a man I imagined becoming a noble would turn you in to."

"Oi, shut up and start looking."

"I would, but it's still raining heavily; I doubt any applicants will show up in this weather."

Aqua got up happily. "Ah, yeah, I figured I'd make it rain."

"Huh," I said, frowning at her, "this was **your** doing?_ Of course it was…_"

She crossed her arms proudly. "Umu, since I got my full powers as a goddess back, I can control when it rains now."

"You idiot!" I yelled. "Don't you know Giant Toads come out when it rains heavily!"

Aqua froze and began to tremble. "N-Not the frogs!"

"Giant toads," Darkness said with a smile on her face, "it's been a while since we've faced off against those."

"B-But we're rich and w-we're nobles, w-we don't have to face off against them—right, Kazuma?!" Aqua stuttered nervously.

I sighed. "Normally, I'd be inclined to agree, but this is **your** fault, so we definitely have to clean up after **your** mess…again! Gah, every time you show up…"

"Kazuma," she said, crawling up to me, "I-I just thought it'd be a good time to have it rain; it's been so hot, I thought"—Aqua quickly regained her composure and stood up, crossing her arms—"that's right, it's been hot; you should be thanking me for bringing you relief from this heat."

_"Oi, this bitch is shameless!_ Thanking you?!" I smiled deviously at her and quickly shifted it to a sincere one. "Umu, Aqua-sama, I'm thankful for you making it rain." Aqua looked confused for a moment, but then she smiled. "Now all the Giant Toads are out; I suppose Aqua-sama, the goddess, can take care of them all by herself."

She shuddered and quickly grabbed me. "Hehe, I'm sorry, but Giant Toads are beneath my—"

"Oi, you're going out there and KILLING EVERY LAST ONE OF THOSE FROGS, YOU SELF-CENTERED BITCH!"

"Gyahhh, Kazuma, please, don't make me fight the frogs," She said, latching on to me as she sobbed.

I struggled to pry her loose. "I don't care what you say, this is **your** mess, so clean it up; maybe next time you'll actually think before you end up doing something stupid!"

Eventually we all headed to the guild hall. As we entered, the adventurers all cheered; calling out our names and praising us. It was honestly a bit embarrassing, but I can't say I didn't like it.

Luna, the receptionist, came over; she bowed deeply and smiled. "Nice to see you guys again; to what do I have the honor?"

"You can drop the formalities, Luna," I said. "It's a bit odd when you guys do it."

She looked slightly surprised at my comment, but then smiled. "Are you here for some quests then?"

"Umu," I replied with a nod.

"Should I give you guys a difficulty ten—"

"Subjugation quest for Giant Toads."

"Huh, Giant Toad subjugation? I mean, we have some available, but—"

I placed my finger on her lips. "As the preeminent heroes of this town, it's our responsibility to make sure the toad population is kept to manageable levels."

"Uh…right, sure. O-Ok, one subja—"

"All of them," I interrupted.

"Wait—all of them?"

"Umu."

"B-But how about the rookie—"

"Luna, the Demon King is defeated; the need for more novice adventurers to experience that kind of awful beginning is unnecessary; I shall shoulder this burden for them."

She cleared her throat. "I didn't think, Kazuma-san could be so selfless."

Aqua stifled a small laugh.

I elbowed her in response and whispered, "You're still killing all of these by yourself."

She began to shudder once more.

"Alright," Luna said, "here you go; I combined all the quests into one. It calls for slaying fifty Giant Toads."

"Fifty?" Aqua said despairingly.

"Yes, fifty."

Aqua slowly turned her horror-stricken eyes towards me; I smirked.

Minutes later, as I dragged a crying Aqua towards the town gate, I turned back to look at them.

"Listen, it's still raining, so we'll have to work quickly; Aqua'll round up all the toads along with Darkness, Megumin, you hit them with Explosion, and I'll pick off whichever ones are still alive."

Megumin and Darkness nodded.

As we came to some distance away from the town, we could see the Giant Toads.

"Alright, I should probably pick a subclass before we start."

I withdrew my adventurer's card and scrolled over to Mage. I could see a slender finger quickly press 'Smith', and then confirm.

"Oi," I said monotonously, "what the hell did you do?"

"I saw you attempting to choose Mage—why, you already have an Archmage; having more than one mage in the party will just throw everything off."

I slowly turned my head towards her. She stared off into the distance unflinchingly.

"You damn chunnibrat!" I yelled, pulling on her cheeks and locks.

"Ahhh, Kazuma, I'm sorry; please stop!" Megumin whined as I continued.

"Kazuma," Darkness yelled, "the toads are coming!"

"Gah, alright everyone, get into position—huh, where's Aqua?"

"Ka-Kazuma! KAZUUUMMMMAAAA!" She wailed as she rounded the corner.

At least twenty other Giant Toads pursued her…and she was headed straight for us.

"Wha-What are you doing, you idiot! Don't bring them all here!" I yelled.

"Kazuma!" Darkness shouted.

I looked over and another twenty were approaching us from the front.

"Megumin," I said, turning to her, "take care of the ones in the front first!"

"Umu!" She nodded and proceeded to cast Explosion…but failed. "Huh—oh no, Kazuma you still haven't returned my mana!"

_"No, this can't be happening, not again!"_ As I ran over to give Megumin her mana back, another batch of Giant Toads appeared from our other side. _"Ah, I see…some things never change…"_

**_-Later that morning_**

Though we were violated by the swarm of frogs, we eventually ended up killing all fifty. Normally, I would abandon the quest in such conditions, but doing so would've brought me undying embarrassment that I could never live down. As a result, all of us were sopping wet and covered from head to toe in a thick layer of toad mucus and guts. Knowing no one wanted to wait for a turn at a bath, the girls bathed in the public bathhouse while I returned to the mansion.

As I lounged in the bath with Chomusuke, I sighed. A smile crept up my face. Though these girls were problems in their own right, I couldn't help but think…staying here was definitely the right choice. If I had to take out a few Demon Kings in the process…then so be it. We already stumbled through one set; I'm sure this ragtag team of an Archpriest, Archmage, Crusader, and Adventurer would make it somehow.

And even if we didn't…I wouldn't staying with them for a bit longer.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It's been a week since that disastrous hunt; we all agreed to take a break from quests. As such, we continued to pass the days in relative peace and comfort. As I cooked, Megumin and Aqua were displaying their usual competitive nature.

"My turn," Megumin said, grabbing the controller from Aqua.

"Hey, I thought we agreed it was two tries per turn," Aqua remarked.

"We did…and you went four times already."

"I was closer than on any of your attempts."

"As if."

"Oi," I said, interrupting the argument, "Aqua, did you finish with the laundry?"

"Huh, oh, uh…almost."

"Almost?" I stuck my head out from the kitchen. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means almost, Kazuma; like, not all done."

"I know **what** it means, you dolt; I mean, what do **you** mean."

"Oh, I just need to finish yours."

"Huh, mine should've been the first ones to get done."

"Mhm—hah, my turn, Megumin!"

"Oi, I'm almost out of clothes—hey, are you listening?!" I grumbled as I went back to cooking.

Megumin walked in. "What you making?" She asked, looking at the pan.

"Hm, eh, nothing unique; just a bit of stir-fried vegetables with beef."

Megumin stood quietly watching.

"…oi, that's kinda distracting."

"Hm, sorry."

I smiled. "Wanna help?"

She smiled childishly, but then looked back to the living room.

"Ah, you can go play with Aqua; I'm almo—"

"No—I wanna…help."

For some reason, I felt a bit flustered. I cleared my throat. "Alright then, here." I handed her another pan. "Makes us some desert."

Megumin fumbled to grab the pan, grabbing my hand in the process.

In that split second, as our rings touched, they activated; however, the rings themselves almost seemed to tear apart, revealing their glowing cores to be a coil of manatite; mine green, and Megumin's, red. As we stared in awe, I could hear the sound of a heartbeat…was it my own.

Megumin looked up at me.

In my mind I heard, "Is he hearing my heartbeat?"

_"Am I hearing her thoughts?"_

Again, I heard a reply in my mind, "Is he hearing my thoughts?"

We both stared at each other and then the rings, quickly pulling away from each other. Megumin avoided looking at me; I subconsciously did the same.

_"W-What the hell was that all about?"_

I quickly turned my attention back to the food which was beginning to overcook. "Megumin," I said, somewhat calmly. "Do you…still wanna help?"

She nodded silently.

I looked down at her ring; it was back to normal. I glanced over at mine; the same. "Surprise me," I said.

"Hm?" She said, looking up at me.

"Surprise me," I repeated. "You're a good enough cook in your own right; make something good…you **are** my wife…right?" Even though I said it with a straight face, I felt highly embarrassed.

Megumin stared at me wide-eyed, her eyes glowing slightly; her ears and face also. "Umu." She grasped the pan and stood beside me. With a smile, she eagerly went to work.

A couple minutes later, we were done; we brought out the plates of food and placed them on the table. Aqua instantly ran over.

"We're waiting for Darkness, so don't start eating yet," I said.

"Oh, right, she headed out to get the maid, right?" Megumin queried.

"Umu."

"I think this a joyous occasion," Aqua said. "I almost forgot, but Ambrosia oba-sama gave me a bottle of her wine to share with you all."

Me and Megumin stared at each other.

"Ah, it **is** diluted, right?" I said worriedly.

"Of course," Aqua snapped. "I have a bottle of the undiluted one for myself."

Just then, the front door opened, and in came Darkness.

"Darkness, welcome back," Megumin said.

"Hey," she replied, "I want to introduce you guys to Irene." As she said that, a tall and slim woman walked in. "She'll be our new maid."

Irene bowed deeply. "Pleased to meet your acquaintances."

As I laid eyes on the tall and beautiful lady in front me, she turned her dark blue eyes towards me. And in a single instance, I could sense the amount of overflowing contempt she had for me.


End file.
